On Cut Off Your Hands' first album, in 2008, You and I, they rode the wave of angular, jumped-up and dancey post-punk rock and pop that was around at the time, played by other like-minded bands such as Arctic Monkeys, Kaiser Chiefs and Bloc Party. That album, and some early EPs, stood them in good stead overseas and they moved to London and played their butts off around the world - but it didn't work out. So after a two-year lay-off comes Hollow, and it's a more settled and melancholic offering - with smooth and soaring melodicism and often-plaintive tenderness. Not that it doesn't fire up, with Down & Out coming on like the dead-beat noise jangle of the Clean-meets-a gentle My Bloody Valentine haze, and the sunny guitar, beat and shuffle of opener You Should Do Better has a delightful jaunt to it with some added Smiths-style melancholy.
In fact, much of Hollow is melancholic, which is hardly surprising given the band's overseas experiences - and songs like Fooling No One are open and honest about the spirit-sapping touring and hard-living that went on.
Once again, the band's influences come shining through, but rather than the Smiths and the Buzzcocks, or other such bands, its Echo and the Bunnymen that are recalled most on Hollow. On Hollowed Out it's as if frontman Nick Johnston is about to break into a rendition of The Cutter, and By Your Side has remnants of Jesus and Mary Chain's stunningly gloomy Deep One Perfect Morning, only Cut Off Your Hands are far more sweet and warm. But despite these seemingly derivative, copycat tendencies, it's hard to fault Cut Off Your Hands because they pull it off so well.
The thing is, while they've done away with the fitful rabble-rousing of their debut, a little of the fun and spirit of that first record has gone too. Although they make up for it with a lovely maudlin mood that somehow consumes the songs, which - believe it or not - makes the relentless brimming beauty of All It Takes and last track Buried beautifully uplifting and heartfelt experiences.
Stars: 3.5/5
Verdict: The sort of music that makes you happy when it rains
