Every few years a band comes along with the message for young music fans that rock n roll can be fun.

The last one was Vaccines, and before that Glas Vegas (maybe not so fun, but it was stripped down) and before that; well, there would have been someone.

Baby Strange play swampy garage rock and have lots in the way of melody and singalong chorus, ideal for the mosh pit. We were a little lukewarm over Vaccines but we like this more, predictable as it is. It’s a lot of fun.

Opener Pure Evil starts the album off well, and it’s not a case of getting the best track on first, either. A plaintive guitar riff precedes a pounding, broody bass line and a there’s a catchy refrain. Nude is poppier and the kind of tune Undertones were producing 30 years ago; dumb but catchy rock n roll indie. It’s perhaps Baby Strange’s Wreckin’ Bar moment.

Other strong tracks include Pleasure City, a sign that power pop could be their next career move; California Sun, which, as its name suggests, goes a bit surfer; and Friend, another punk tune from back in the day and a glorious shoutalong B-side. Human has an 80s/Killers feel, while the title track closes with a swampy rock n roll tune, a rather frantic track that we’d guess is what their early sound was like. A lot of fun.

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