Goodshirt: Fiji Baby

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * * *)

Their slow-burning debut album, good with its singalong number one Sophie, showed the Auckland band to be a canny bunch. A pop band with weird ideas - some of them borrowed from the synth-rock end of the 80s - but a love for a well-turned hook of lateral-minded lyric. But, of course, having no bass player does tend to raise the average IQ of any group. On their second they repeat the trick nicely.

The 11 tracks come with a few songs designed purely for fast and fuzzy thrills, as on throwaway first single Buck It Up. But there's a backbone of wriggly Moog-infected poprock, which includes opener Not That Far (complete with backwards-taped reverse gear), the ranting Dumb Day, and the hard-hitting surefire hit Cement. And this comes with a line in gorgeously askew balladry at its best on Sand, My Racing Head and Cold Body Blues. Yes, Sophie gets a happy little sister in Lucy and the title track at the end has a Don McGlashan bent to its tune, and its bittersweet lyrics should go down a treat at their next Hamilton gig. As an album, it has to be said: they've gone from good to better.

Label: Cement/Capitol