Sacred Paws - "Empty Body" [buy]
Sacred Paws - "Strike a Match" [buy]

Full of twisty highlife guitars, dancey tom-heavy drums, and occasional horns, the new Sacred Paws LP was a complete surprise to me. They're not from nowhere, of course. Rachel Aggs played guitar in the riotous razor-sharp London trios Trash Kit and Shopping, and drummer Eilidh Rodgers is ex of Glasgow's Golden Grrrls. But this record, full of interwoven vocal melodies, feels entirely fresh, like a gust of warm wind announcing the end of winter. The lyrics to the jumpy "Empty Body" describe the precarity of youth, knee deep in side-hustles and pining for a more humane way of life. Beefed up with bass, hand-claps, and horns "Strike a Match" is pure celebration. A tangle of lyrics and rhythms shot through with a pop sensibility, it sounds like Turn-era The Ex meets Bow Wow Wow.

(photo by Spike)