Barely more than a year since the release in the UK of their debut album, Caramel, and Tokyo four-piece Taffy are back with their sophomore album, Lixiviaite.
As with their debut, the band are in love with indie’s history, particularly the pre-Britpop high points of shoegazing and c-86. It’s a sweet album -perhaps a little too sweet at times, but a fun way to spend forty minutes.
Amongst the standout tracks here are album opener ‘Sweet Violet’ and their frankly astonishing version of The Cure’s ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ which they completely make their own. As you would hope from any good cover version – but it’s not just the fact that it’s a female voice, musically they have run with it, and in ways I wouldn’t have thought in decades of listening to the song.
It’s not a huge progression from their debut, but it’s another welcome addition, and a welcome antidote to so much pseudo-indie landfill.
[Rating:3.5]
Lixiviaite is out now on Club AC30.
