PAWS – Cokefloat!

Recorded on a boat moored on the Thames, it's easy to imagine that this much-anticipated debut album from garage pop rockers PAWS could have sunk under the weight of expectation that has built up ahead of its launch. The Glasgow-based trio are known for playing reliably frantic gigs, so producer Rory Attwell earns brownie points for succeeding in capturing their raw energy on record. The former Test Icicle has injected PAWS with some serious fizz, but still found space for the bittersweet howl of Phillip Taylor to take centre stage.

Fans of the band will already be familiar with the painful subject matter of the superb opening song Catherine 1956, which Taylor explores with devastating honesty. Such hard-edged melancholy runs throughout the record, most obviously on new single Sore Tummy, yet Cokefloat! remains an uplifting experience, buzzing with inventive riffs and powered by a no-nonsense rhythm section. An impressive debut that delivers much more than the sugar high its title might suggest.