Spokes – Everyone I Ever Met

While their EP of last year wallowed rather tepidly in soft/loud guitar alchemy, Spokes' debut album proper is a far brighter affair, on which the Mancunian post-rock quartet have utilised the power of vocals to produce memorable songs of frequently towering scale, rather than simply accomplished instrumental pieces. Opener 345 sets out the group's new manifesto with aplomb, as ebullient, group-sung vocals collide with wave-like crescendos of guitar and strings.

Elsewhere, We Can Make It Out and Give It Up To The Night are positively anthemic, while Happy Needs Colour and Sun It Never Comes give Spokes ample room to showcase their down tempo, melancholic side. Only When I Was A Daisy, When I Was A Tree finds the band meandering slightly, but as debut albums go Everyone I Ever Met feels fully formed and more than punches its weight; this is leagues beyond what most in their field can muster. [Martin Skivington]