Album Review: The Courtneys - The Courtneys II

Scuzzy Vancouver indie-pop outfit The Courtneys recently received the distinction of becoming the first-ever international band to sign with longstanding New Zealand tastemakers Flying Nun and unsurprisingly their sunny, ramshackle aesthetic is a perfect fit, the trio having long professed their love of music past from the land of the long white cloud.

New long-player The Courtneys II — the follow-up to their 2013 self-titled debut — is an uplifting, feel-good wedge of dreamy lo-fi bubblegum garage-punk, swathed in distortion and sloppy in feel but never in execution. Upbeat lead single Silver Velvet opens proceedings with its perfectly poppy chorus acting like a statement of intent, Country Song following atop disarmingly dreamy riffs while Minnesota soars with infectious choruses and laidback guitar histrionics. Tour eulogises being on the road with kickass vocal harmonies, before the near-seven-minute Lost Boys continues The Courtneys' penchant for piling on pop culture references. Virgo and 25 drip with unrequited longing, the unhurried insistence of Iron Deficiency reminds of ECSR in places, the aloof Mars Attacks devolves into chanted schoolyard refrains and Frankie finishes with a fitting fuzz flourish.

Throughout the casual croon of drummer/vocalist Jen Twynn Payne adds a nonchalant cool to offset the casual largesse with hooks and melodies displayed by her bandmates (guitarist Courtney Loove and bassist Sidney Koke), and despite its dreamy sheen they deliver their power-pop with a steely determination that adds real heft.