Released: 31st May 2019
Rating: ★★★★
Being serious may be an essential part of daily life, but where’s the fun in frowning? Glasgow-based duo Sacred Paws whole-heartedly embrace the lighter side of everything and are determined to produce the finest tunes made for getting that uncle with the dodgy knee up on the dance floor.
With a signature style that brings firm weight to the argument of two voices outweighing one, Rachel Aggs and Eilidh Rodgers act as different halves of the same brain as they combine forces with all the thoroughly-planned beats of a classic Laurel and Hardy routine.
Halcyon days of teenage summers, bright shirts and novelty inflatables spring to mind, particularly in songs like ‘What’s So Wrong’ where daydreaming listeners are left plenty of time to wander and bask in the sparkling, featherweight tones. Rodgers’ effervescent drumming technique is to be admired, filled with virtuosic elements yet never overpowering her guitar-wielding comrade.
The pairing claim they’d get bored if the music was too slow, a philosophy which leads a glorious stream of racing indie pop beauties that pair up the deservedly high expectations of fans. At no point is there the slightest hint that this energy will dip – if the opening bars successfully entice, there’s no escaping until the final throes are long gone.
Those impossibly upbeat sounds from award-winning debut album ‘Strike A Match’ are back in abundance and the pair’s camaraderie is clear throughout as they work in an astonishing level of unison that keep each track perfectly tight even at such rapid pace.
These are melodies for the best of times, for when that smile is ever-widening and the only thing that matters is feeling wonderful. Put the lime in the coconut, shake it all up and string up the hammock – Sacred Paws have brought summer with them considerably earlier than the Met Office predicted.
Ciaran Steward
