Not the first album ever to be entitled Little Victories (there must be half a dozen) the Cavan quartet’s follow-up to their 2013 debut comes with a heavy weight of expectation. As a live force, The Strypes have proved beyond doubt they can pull off a rollicking show better than most of their peers. The obvious question is, can they move beyond their (superbly executed) take on that ‘60s rhythm and blues sound? The answer is an assured “yes”.
Still barely out of their teens, here the four widen their musical horizons without jettisoning what makes them great. Chugging opener ‘Get Into It’ retains that raw
Dr Feelgood urgency, with heavier, harder riffage and a more expansive soundscape. ‘I Need To Be Your Only’ blends an Abba (‘Waterloo’) opening riff with a Liam Gallagher-esque vocal and a glam rock sheen. Elsewhere, the crunching guitars and swaggering attitude on ‘The Queen of The Half Crown’ suggest they’ve been listening to Humble Pie and Mott The Hoople.
The title might be pastoral and Kinks-like but ‘Three Streets And A Village Green’ is nothing of the sort and recalls Dutch progsters Focus (‘Hocus Pocus’). Meanwhile, manic drums and impressive fretwork mark ‘Eighty-Four’ out as Red Hot Chilli Peppers meets Arctic Monkeys. Metallic guitars dominate on the grungy, almost Nirvana like, ‘Best Man’. The prognosis? Very good indeed...

KEY TRACK:'Queen Of The Half Crown'