Album review: really big really clever – …huh?

really big really clever walk an oxymoronic line. They subtly present themselves as jokesters, from their self-deprecating band name and the choice of title for their second album, as well as its outlandish artwork. While the Brighton punks might make noise with a bouncing, wild abandon, it’s not all for shits and giggles, unpacking the push-pull of fracturing relationships (no respect for knights) and the muddiness of losing and reclaiming your sense of self (the middle) along the way. Meanwhile, back door goes a step further, ambitiously diarising the fear and confusion trailing in the wake of being spiked across walls of riffs that sound deceivingly fun at first, before morphing into a more shadowy sound.

They jest about being big and clever, but that song is, sincerely, both of those things. The intro is similar, a 45-second blast of scuzz that makes you brace for something epic before the plug gets pulled, deceptive, and almost cheeky. Not all of their songs are quite as memorable as these, and as a result it feels longer than its 35 minutes, especially when there’s not always enormous variation between individual tracks. Nonetheless, their garage-dredged sound is both organic and likeable.

Every so often, however, there’s a flash of brilliance. i will is easily the best song here, beginning as a sweet, acoustic confessional ('I’ve been meaning to say this for such a long time / Now you’re stood in front of me, giving me those piercing eyes') before chunky riffs usher in a blunt plot twist – 'I will cut you / I will bruise you / I will wreck you / I will ruin you.') Later, closer back and forth departs from their other songs’ snappy runtimes in favour of an epic finale that sometimes feels like they’re watching a sunrise and playing music to accompany it.

If they mined more of whatever magic they wrung out of these songs in particular, they’d be in a golden position. Here’s hoping that’s where they end up – there’s still unfulfilled promise here.

Verdict: 3/5

For fans of: Bad Nerves, Milk Teeth, unpeople

…huh? is released on August 22 via Sugar Free