Kutosis - Fanatical Love

Cardiff three piece Kutosis certainly know how to be direct and to the point. Their energetic debut is a thrilling, pacey throwback to when the indie scene was really going places. Harsh, metallic - the opening tracks are punky, energetic numbers that pack a satisfyingly punchy weight to both the bass and guitars

The album is the result of only two weeks in the studio and it's on tracks like Shadows that this tells most - there's urgency, a palpable excitement even in the songs that seem born of raw pain and anguished emotions.

Six years ago, you'd have a good score of bands like Kutosis fighting tooth and claw for their big break. The market was stagnating fast in a chokehold of sound-alike groups, but now, with the space to breath, there's a new life to these sounds, hinting that it might even be time for a resurgence? If so, Kutosis would make an admirable runner to lead the charge.

Fanatical Love falls roughly into two halves - the first is an angular, rough and ready blend of uptempo stuff - think The Pigeon Detectives mixed with the weird lyrics and yelpy vocals of the Klaxons; Skin is a particular highlight.

The second half of the record sees the band making a more explorative move, by Battle Lake they have hit their stride, investing the tracks with real scale and ambition. The songs become darker, more sombre - at its best moments the latter half of Fanatical Love seems possessed of the spirit of some shadowy place between Joy Division and Placebo.

Kutosis are the sound of manic fisticuffs round the back of a pub - often the vocals drop away completely, the band content to let the violent riffing of their guitars to do the talking. This is a rough band, but one that's highly polished in their roughness - it's an attractive mix.

Fanatical Love is released on the 14th November.