Like many of the records I like the most, I ummed and ahhed with this when it came to reviewing this one, circling it warily, scratching my chin and basically dithering over what to say like a big idiot. Now, of course, it’s a bit bloody late and the world has moved on and I look both silly and slow. Oh well. This is Sauna Youth’s second album. Their first was great, but this is even better. On the face of it the songs they’ve collected are simple, yelpy things that jounce their way between scrappy chords, boy-girl vocals and unruly melodies. But there’s also an innate cleverness through things that isn’t hidden so much as matter-of-fact; as if the slippery undertones, deft fillips and the sense that the band have condensed their collective smarts into these funny little three-minute things were all a lucky roll of the dice rather than something they’ve laboured at. Maybe it is, who knows. Ultimately, though, if you like anything from the crackling post-punk of Wire and Swell Maps to the recent wave of Aussie stuff like Royal Headache, Eddy Current Suppression Ring and Total Control then this will be up your alley. Heck, even if those references don’t mean anything to you then you should still be giving it a go, even if it’s only because I say ‘I Tried To Leave’ is one of the best punk songs the UK has produced in goodness knows how long. Go on, then!
