Amy Franz and Hayley McKee flesh things out a fraction from their 26-minute debut and the 13 compositions captured here reveal a greater range. They also develop on from the teen-angst stories of Fifteen to tackle, well, adult-angst, as the songs address the complications of growing up and the imperfections of serious ongoing relationships. But, thankfully, it all still sounds exactly like Super Wild Horses.
Outside forces make suitably minimal contributions to the threadbare compositions. Twerps’ Rick Milovanovic drops in for bass duties on Meant For Two, adding a timely bounce to the song’s step at its halfway mark. Liam Kenny from Bitch Prefect offers a repeated single line as backing vocals for West Ghost, perversely making the duo of vocalists sound more distanced than united.
The strength of Franz and McKee’s sound ensures there is a cohesive feel to the album, no matter what tempo or mood the songs are set to. In between the album’s poppiest numbers, the Throwing Muses-like opener Alligator and the almost jaunty Heavy Step, we are dropped into the murkier, more discordant worlds of Memphis and Don’t Gamble. The soft centre-point of Dragging The Fog is a disquieting picture of wandering around lost and lonely; the contrast with the tropical-bird squawks and rocked-up Rock Lobster shimmy of the following track, Ono In A Space Bubble, couldn’t be greater. Despite the roller-coaster ride of emotions throughout the album, it finishes on a lighter note with the escapist surf-pop of Waikiki Romance and a warm, gentle closer that’s aptly named Setting Sun.
The same intense energy that’s applied to Crossword’s raw, rocky tracks also drives the slower, more introspective tracks. Whether there’s an unnerving darkness and directness, or a soulful vulnerability (or both at once), this is the sound of a band stretching themselves but also staying true to what makes them special. The album is worth it for their dreamy reinterpretation of Smokey Robinson’s You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me alone.
BY CHRIS GIRDLER
Best Track: You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Those Darlins THOSE DARLINS, Only In Dreams DUM DUM GIRLS
In A Word: Howled-surprises
