The colourful artwork on Edinburgh’s Book Group’s second EP, Tantrums, is the sort of detail that makes a band attractive in these days of new-music saturation, particularly of the Scottish guitar-based kind.
Billed as “bigger, darker, louder” than their previous material, it has a full body of layered instrumental parts and remains cheery and upbeat in sound, while Graeme Anderson’s vocals are reminiscent of the mid-00s indie boom, like Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody in one of his more urgent moods.
The lyrics are anecdotal: some wry, some earnest and emotive and fuzzy feedback, guitar reverb and tambourine layers make an exciting opening track in ‘Here is Too Near’.
The odd lyric jars, for example, “I was in the Boys Brigade/it never got me laid”; but the simplest works best, like the closing line, “I’m just sorry that I’m here/here seems to be too near”.
‘Get Up and Go Go Go’ has a brilliant lead guitar line moving behind the verses, while a vocoder gives the bridge a bit of production edge.
There is great percussion on ‘A Rough Wooing’, alongside a synth line that sounds uncomfortably like a school student trying out different instrumental voices on the keyboard, still the song builds up on a selection of minimalist melodic lines, steady and quite melancholic.
‘Best Regards’ is low-key angry, with power chords and backing vocals and is the type of earworm indie that gets into your head and makes you want to go on a road trip and air-drum on the dashboard.
Words: Ellen MacAskill
