Come On Gang! – Strike A Match

The foreword to Come On Gang!’s story was penned in a tiny music room at Edinburgh College of Art, where the band met in 2007; from there they have been regulars on the live circuit, as well as releasing a joint single with Kid Canaveral, and a single proper of their own. It ends here, though, with first long player Strike A Match. Opening with the assured, bright punk-pop of Coffee Shop, it continues in a jaunty vein with Fortune Favours The Brave, a merry-go-round of hooks and wavering vocals.

Elsewhere Spinning Room is a should-have-been single, as is Santa Maria, which rattles along on ticking drums, sounding like it’ll explode at any moment, but instead sinks away on a lone acoustic and stutter of synth. And right there is where their brilliance lies: nothing seems pre-set. They bow out on lullaby of a song, Start The Sound, the tenderest singer Sarah Tanat-Jones has sounded. And with that, we bid them a premature goodbye. [Anna Docherty]