The Last Sad Verse Of A Dumb Punk Song EP

The eagerly-awaited (at least in this office) follow-up to their excellent debut E.P. doesn’t disappoint. The songs are stronger and more deliberate than the atmospheric harmonising of their last E.P., with the kind of wistful romanticism and keyboard-driven melodies that Prefab Sprout’s Paddy McAloon would be proud of. The finely-spun Stephen Street-produced title track is full of fleeting sadness and warmth, while ‘Amphetamine Delights’ and ‘Spiders’ (a dead ringer for Mercury Rev) both tinker with the heartstrings in similarly delightful fashion.