Joanna Gruesome
Peanut Butter
May 11 2015 (Fortuna POP!)
7.5/10
Words: Alison Mack
The Welsh five-piece deliver their second album of scuzzy, noisy guitars, thrashing drums that somehow make for pop melodies that still sound less abrasive than might be imagined - a style that has rightly earned them accolades such as picking up the Welsh Music Prize for their debut 'Weird Sister'.
The relatively brief 22-minute album of ten tracks, produced by Hookworms' MJ, now sees the band blend indie-pop quirkiness with even grittier elements. In fact, much honouring their promise that this work “contains a record number of hooks, traces of nut and elements of jangle pop, British hardcore punk, atonal music, screaming and drone organs”.
Opener, lead single 'Last Year' kicks proceedings off with its energy force that fires off squally feedback and Alanna McArdle’s “I’m alive” yell, before moving into their softer toned section, which is one of the band's plus points that they like to defy expectation. They then race through the other nine tracks with equal precision and aplomb.
There's the bizarre lo-grunge that is 'There Is No Function Stacy', a song about "someone called Stacy who wrongly believes a party is happening that she’s been invited to. The narrator has to painfully explain to her that there was never a party and she fabricated it all." Right...then let's move on to 'Honestly Do Yr Worst' which delivers guitars, drums and vocals all fighting it out to take the crown. It's a battle for sure.
'Jamie (Luvver)' is a forthright pop tune about someonr having a crush on the titular Jamie; the edgy 'Crayon' tips its hat high with a standout rhythm, while 'Jerome (Liar)' is littered with lines like “You think about size, a lot” and “You talk about Microsoft”: the Gruesome mob playing the ironic, tongue-in-cheek. Closer 'Hey! I Wanna Be Yr Best Friend' brings McArdle and guitarist Owen Williams together to harmonise before dual rock guitars fade into a solo finish.
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