Peanut Butter
Caroline
Having one of the more impressively silly names going round at the moment, Welsh band Joanna Gruesome continue their exploration of aggression and melody on their second album, Peanut Butter. The members are said to have met on a wine tasting tour or at the suggestion of an anger management class and Joanna Gruesome have all of the tongue in cheek spark in their tunes that both of those scenarios would suggest.
Joanna Gruesome draw on the sounds of fuzzy guitar bands of the ’90s, with a bit of punk attitude thrown in for good measure. Last Year kicks off with Alanna McArdle pushing out distorted punk rock vocals over dirty guitars before the harmonies overtake the chorus and some bright guitars enter the mix.
The band wrap a lot into their two minute tunes that swing from charming ‘roof up’ summer drives to sweaty and smelly dark bars in the flick of a switch. Honestly Do Yr Worst is a frenetic slice of indie rock with a chugging melodic coda that insists on repeated listens and Separate Bedrooms makes the most of the boy/girl dynamic the band do so well.
The currency of Joanna Gruesome is hooks and screams, with Peanut Butter they have both of these in spades. Peanut Butter is a blistering listen that is over as quickly as a college chap’s first date.
★★★.5
CHRIS HAVERCROFT
