Late to the party on this one, but so glad I did turn up as I might have missed out on this delightful collection of post punk from Brighton’s Come the Spring. Released last year on the brilliant Engineer Records, who are building up a very talented roster of bands, Echoes showcases the bands penchant for crafting tunes that have energy and passion in abundance. It’s “emo” how I remember it, when Revelation Records were releasing quality post punk in the mid 90’s by the likes of Texas Is the Reason, Sensefield and Farside.

Echoes kicks off with Thirteen Months, with its instrumental opening leading into a perfect slice of post punk. The lead single For What It’s Worth, is a soaring number which perfectly demonstrates my point about that old school “emo” feel. The four piece experiment with emotion in sonic form with the instrumental Sjo. But if it’s raw emotion you are looking for then check out Echoes, where singer Sam Craddock-Camp spills his soul onto record. The result is heartbreaking and somewhat haunting as he screams”I’m trying to stay clean, but sobriety isn’t me.”  Not wanting to finish on that note, the PMA is restored with a belting cover of Don Henley’s Boys Of Summer which I can imagine being blasted around arenas in the near future.

Its proper heart on your sleeve stuff, backed up with abrasive riffs and a rhythm section that knows exactly when to up the ante or take it down a notch and it’s done superbly well. British post rock hasn’t sounded this good since the sorely missed Hundred Reasons were on the scene, but the emergence of Come the Spring, will fill that void quite nicely, should you be looking. I slept on this one, but you can be sure I won’t be caught sleeping when they release their the next record. Chris Andrews