Male Bonding / Endless Now

Male Bonding
Endless Now
(Sub Pop)
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It's not exactly accurate to say that Male Bonding 'suffered' a weight of expectation when they emerged a couple of years ago; their blissful but muscular garage rockers were hyped beyond the weight they punched at, but the band got to enjoy some downtime with Steve Albini, establishing a transatlantic existence from their base in Dalston, while figuring out what the fuck to do next. 'Hanging around' doesn't seem to have been on the agenda: this is their second album in as many years.

It's a decent record too: one which will hopefully allow them to claw back some space and chill out the gravity-defying expectations. Because Male Bonding aren't a punk revelation or the next Pixies: they're just a good band (if ‘just’ is the right word!)

Ash spring to mind, surprisingly, on the yearning and summery punk rock of 'Seems To Notice' and 'Before It's Gone', while the group mix grungey, doped-up vocals with the bite of the Buzzcocks on 'Mysteries Complete'.

Sometimes the tunes aren't there however: 'Channeling Your Fears' riffs off a chord sequence a band of teenagers would avoid for fear of cliche, then shoots into a bored chorus. Boo: at times like this it’s almost too easy to see Male Bonding as a bunch of guys as opposed to the discovery of E.Ts. Still, there are plenty of great moments to chew on with ‘Endless Now’.