Frontwoman Maisie Everett has even coined the phrase ‘limerence rock’ to describe the band’s sound, and sure enough, most of the record addresses that psychological state when infatuation becomes so intense it takes on an obsessive quality. Sometimes, as in the mid-tempo rocker “Don’t Let Them Tell You (It’s Fair)”, the preoccupation centres around the self, but regardless of its focus, it leads to joy just as often as it causes anxiety. In short, a limerent runs the gamut of emotions, and Again displays a similarly wide range of moods throughout its ten tracks.
First and foremost, though, it is an earnest guitar record packed with sticky power-pop songs that feature quick-footed rhythms, fuzzy riffs and Everett’s yearning yet poised vocals. It’s the result of the band constantly refining their DIY indie rock. While their self-titled debut EP sounded like a classic grunge record from a generation earlier, Lush Life, their first full length, released in 2023, didn’t just combine raw energy with subtle instrumental twists such as a trumpet line, it also oozed coolness and euphoria in equal measure. A remarkable feat to pull off and with Again, they prove it was no fluke.
Opener “Again and Again” is a two and a half-minute blast performed by a band that’s rocking away like their lives depend on it. Why be content with just a flurry of guitars, though, when you can add a fiddle to the mix? They do, turning the straightforward rocker into a barn-burning stomper. Though its tempo isn’t quite as fast, “Don’t Let Them Tell You (It’s Fair)” even doubles down on the guitars if that is at all possible, evoking the reckless abandon of White Denim’s joyous jams, while also nodding to some of the band’s major influences like Television, Pavement/Stephen Malkmus, and the Strokes. Now couple all that with Everett’s sassy delivery and a message of self-belief (“You’ve made it this far / I’ll make you a star”) and you’ve got a modern-day indie classic. Oddly, it’s not even the album’s best track.
That distinction goes to…well, it’s a toss-up. On “Back of
My Hand”, a song about trusting the strength of a relationship, the
quartet don’t just nail the loud-quiet dynamic honed to perfection by
the Pixies, they also come up with a blown-out groove after the chorus,
and Everett delivers her strongest vocals, her voice effortlessly rising
and falling with the melody. The band then widen the scope with a Korg
X50 synth loop that drives the album’s jubilant lead single “Hey You”,
adding another layer to what sounds like Chrissie Hynde fronting Kings
of Leon circa 2008 – detached and stadium-ready at the same time.
Group favourite “If You’ve Got the Time” gets even closer
to arena rock, not least because of guitarist Mike Bradvica’s turn on
backing vocals. It’s listening to this song that you first start
wondering: this band could be huge. But it’s the kind of mainstream fare
that stops short of becoming corny; a bit like a guitar-obsessed Tom
Petty with an inclination towards jamming out and experimenting. That
said, the four-piece do skirt cheesiness on “Burning Up”, a ballad of
sorts where the background vocals near the end sound a touch syrupy. In
their defence, though, they actually wanted to write a song with a huge
hook in the vein of 90s bands like Matchbox Twenty and Deep Blue
Something, plus it still has enough going for it – spacey guitar and a
violin played by Cash Savage and the Last Drinks’ fiddlist, Kat Mear –
that you can forgive hackneyed lines like “I never meant to hurt you,
baby / I never meant to make you cry”.
Then again, ending the album with a couple of more easily
accessible songs – closer “Price of a Man”, despite being groovier and
addressing toxic masculinity, is also quite conventional by their
standards – may be the band’s attempt to attract a wider audience. And
they do deserve a wider audience. It’s just that you hope they can get
it without having to lose the spark and spirit that makes Again such a thrilling ride.
