Gulp (Blue Vinyl) (Indies)

While their debut grappled with the mundanity of middle England, Gulp! Comes at you from a different angle entirely. The band aren't in their hometowns anymore and now spend a lot of time on the road and living the band life. "We were writing about our experience growing up, commuter towns in your early 20s and that sort of existence - it feels really novel for that period of your life," says Rob of their debut. "It reflected what we were doing and how we felt." The second was written after a period of intense change and evolution - for both them as a band and the world at large. Musically, Gulp! #veers away from the US alt-rock sound of their earlier music and towards something more emotive, with feeling - with dashes of XTC, The Bangles and their obsession, Bryan Ferry.