★★★★

It takes a whole 55 seconds forThe Dream Is Overto really kick into high gear – and while this may seem like an odd thing to say about most bands, it’s basically a lifetime for Canadian four-piece Pup.

But as soon as frontman Stefan Babcock spits, “If this tour doesn’t kill you / Buddy, I’m on it”, we are off to the races.

Pup’s second album is everything you want from the band: frantic rhythms that turn on a dime, paired with dual guitar assaults and covered in gang vocals, yet with everything kicked into the next level. Their relentless touring schedule has left them as sharp as a scalpel, laying precise incisions across the album through key changes, time signatures and the occasional fist-in-the-air punk anthem.

Songs like ‘DVP’ and ‘Old Wounds’ simply refuse to stand still, whereas ‘The Coast’ and ‘Pine Point’ display a softer but no less intense side to the band. ‘Pine Point’, in particular, starts with an acoustic guitar, only to build over five minutes, hitting all of the band’s trademarks and making for a monumental closing track.

Pup came into this album with a vision to be bigger and bolder, and they’ve passed with flying colours.

Pup’sThe Dream Is Overis avialable now through SideOneDummy/Cooking Vinyl.

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