The Tubs - Cotton Crown

Cotton Crown is the second full-length album from Celtic Jangle boyband venture The Tubs.Cotton Crown sees the group venture into darker, more personal territory while continuing to hone their highly addictive brand of songcraft. It's a true level up album which sees the band expand their sonic palette to take in a kaleidoscopic range of influences: everything from soulful pub rock (Chain Reaction) to Hüsker Dü aggression (One More Day) to melancholy sophisto-pop (Narcissist) gets a look in. The band continues to explore this world and create a distinctly Tub-ular sound in the process.This is in no small part down to Owen 'O' Williams' vocal performance- often compared to a young Richard Thomson- and his frank, bleakly funny lyric writing. The essential trick Cotton Crown plays is to offset Williams' lyrical bleakness with joyous, hook-laden blasts of pop perfection.Guitarist George Nicholls effortlessly slips between the virtuoso jangle of Marr, the driving folk-rock of Pentangle and the chorus-heavy hi-fi grooves of contemporary bands like Tops or The 1975 across the album. Add to that the breakneck rhythm section of Taylor Stewart (Drums) and Max Warren (Bass)- who attack each song with power-pop ferocity, recalling Guided by Voices at their drunken-yet-tight best- and you've got yourself a recipe for indie rock greatness. On his jangle-pop group's second album, the former Joanna Gruesome singer finds unlikely inspiration in familial grief. Against his glum lyrics and cold, stricken voice, the music chugs along merrily.