Spazzys - Dumb Is Forever (2011)

The Spazzys are back, baby! Dumb Is Forever is the much anticipated - very much for some of us - follow-up to the chick-punk trio's 2004 debut album, Aloha! Go Bananas, and it doesn't disappoint. Kat, Lucy and Ally have stayed true to their sound, offering up 12 tracks of their trademark Ramones-meets-girl group doo-wop brand of punk-rock. It's punchy, funny at times, and does Aloha!... justice.

Dissolution [Is The Only Solution] and What's Your Story are classic Spazzys, stylistically very similar to the tracks offered up on their debut release, nice and easy to sing (or holler) along to. Creep has a tougher feel to anything they've done before; the lyrics are almost acrid; “Now I want to leave you here to die... Am I getting through to you?” Loud and clear, ladies.

Putting any bitterness aside, they've still got a knack for producing great singalong lyrics and melodies, like Hey Hey Baby and Cigarettes from their first album, Best Waves Ever and later track, Makin' Trash, get your feet tapping along before you even realise it's happening.

It's great to hear that Spazzys haven't fallen prey to the curse of the second album. Dumb Is Forever is infectious all girl power-pop; it's different to Aloha!... and yes, the subject matter is a little sourer – there was a time when the girls pined for Paco, now almost a decade later they're leaving creeps to die and asking for divorces. But the trio prove that it doesn't matter whether they're singing for love lost or love found, they can write a cracking song. Here's hoping there's not such a long break between Dumb Is Forever and album number three.