10

Warm comforting punk-rock

Boston trio Sneeze have a warm comforting punk-rock sound - grunge influenced, distortion heavy production and rich bass overlay danceable riffs and sing along vocals, making for an album that is instantly likeable from the opening track and pulls you straight in to the band's aural world with ease.

There are plenty of bouncy, melodic tunes on offer, take opener Intro which is reminiscent of something you can't quite put your finger on and induces fuzzy nostalgia, or perhaps Canker will grab you, with its scuzzy, distorted guitar belting out catchy little riffs and infectious sing along vocal lines. Bad Head is another corker, hiding fantastic (almost discordant) riffs under a layer of static which surface here and there to reel you in. Then there's Dark Elf, a moodier track but still a cracking tune and Quit Shitting which is like a super heavy Weezer-esque tune doused in distorted scuzz and it's great fun.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable record; it's easy on the ear and trips past in waves of fuzzy warmth, all 15 tracks of it. While it never outstays its welcome, as all the tracks are sort and sweet, there isn't a huge amount of variation. So if I was forced to pick fault I'd say it can feel a bit familiar and repetitive towards the end and you may find yourself zoning out occasionally if you're not giving the record your full attention. If you are hooked in however, you'll find some real gems here.