Album Review: The Goon Sax - We're Not Talking

They were young when they formed, young when they recorded their first album and they're still only just sloping out of their teens as they release their second album.

At its strongest, We're Not Talking still reaches the same impossibly catchy, jangle-pop heights that they impressed with on their debut, but across its 30 minutes, some minor risk-taking doesn't quite pay off.

Their trademark innocence and honest dives into the realities of approaching and entering adulthood are still intact and if they were previously singing about those things from an observational point of view, now they're reporting from the inside, as they experience them. Other changes include the three band members taking a greater share of lead vocals, with Riley Jones' voice particularly impressing on the tender Strange Light. They've also experimented with different instrumentation such as strings, piano and a drum machine, widening their palette from the straight rock trio format.

When the album works it's a thrilling dash through young love and self-doubt. Opener Make Time 4 Love is brisk, fun and infectious, She Knows is reminiscent of the rough and barely contained sugar rush of The Strokes, while Sleep EZ and Get Out recall the golden heyday of Flying Nun's skewed pop moments. In contrast, other songs such as Now You Pretend are only partly formed interludes. They add variety to the album but they feel like filler before the next primitive, melodic pop explosion occurs.

The many highlights on We're Not Talking suggest that The Goon Sax are still evolving and successfully exploring the art and craft of confessional, catchy and quirky songwriting.