Just over a year as a band and Superglu are already hitting poppy-rocky indie tracks right out of the park. Previous singles showed promise but Horse, their debut EP, shows off some of the glory of their live set with slightly smoothed edges and a bit of polish. First single Rounder set the tone quite nicely, a fun burst of energy where you can almost feel the grins on the Manningtree four piece’s faces blasting from the speakers, but in the context of the EP it makes perfect sense. Oil has been a firm favourite of live sets for the best part of twelve months but it still excites. Despite the record being as carefree as the band, Oil is one of those tracks where you can hear the attention to detail, some of the instrumentation lower in the mix at times seems to appear mysteriously on my second listen, while the whispers work fantastically.

Question brings the pace and energy down a bit (relatively), kicking things off with electronic drums and slow building feedback before, the vocals on this track are a bit more prominent. Sometimes, when you keep in mind the often raucous performances of Ben and Ben’s other band, Dingus Khan, you can forget just how talented Ben Brown is when it comes to vocals, this track showing off everything from falsetto to a crackling yell towards the end. Krista’s vocal parts keep getting better too, although I do feel at times they’re hidden a bit too much in the mix.

Over the last year I’ve seen Superglu a fair few times and Weekend has stood out as one of their best consistently. I think it’s their ‘Song 2’, the energy during the chorus and various other sections marks a definite jump-along section. The falsetto “Somewhere, outside my window” still gives me the chills. Slowest track on the EP, Overjoyed, another favourite from the live set, comes to life in the middle as electronics whir and odd keys/strings stab through the sharp guitar sound.

While pretty much all of the tracks on Horse will be familiar to anyone who’s seen them before, some of them having been around since day one but it’s great to hear them recorded how the band want you to hear them, a slightly more polished performance but not without its raw charm. Songs like Weekend demand repeat plays and I’m sure it’ll be no time before it ends up all over the airwaves. Order a copy, head to one of the many, many, shows they’re playing in the coming month.