The Road To Ugly

(Armellodie)

Seconds out and into the ring for 12 rounds (all between two and three minutes) of energetic scrapping with this Glasgow-based trio. Watch out, though, because singer Colin Reid will hit you with a quick verbal jab when you're least expecting it – a sharp and angry outburst thrown from behind the bite of Ruth Forsyth's bass and the snap of Jason Sinclair's drums. They'll keep changing the style of their stance too. Overpriced is a pleasant pummelling from a band disguised as a junior Fugazi; Broken Arm does a knees-up at a pub piano next door to Supergrass's Alright; Fiddley Dee is a surreal high-speed journey into Deliverance territory... if Burt Reynolds and chums had stumbled on duelling banjos somewhere north up the A9; Body Mass Index is the sound of a sugar-addicted kid on a pogo stick he's stolen from Alex Harvey's backyard. The referee's decision? The Road To Ugly is more measured than the band's 2009 eponymous debut, with better tunes and steadier feet when skipping from one genre to the next.