by Philip Moss

Every nook and cranny of this second record from Glasgow’s U.S Highball is crammed tight with adorable melodies and charming turns of phrase

U.S Highball do not like to hang around. Just 17 months after their debut, Great Record, Scottish pair of James William Hindle and Calvin Halliday are back with Up To High Doh – a home recorded collection of romantic pop songs that rarely break the two minute mark.

Single, New Neighbour, has the same lovesick eye for ‘infactuation’ that’s been so brilliantly penned by Stuart Murdoch over the years, but it is the understated jangling swagger of his Belle & Sebastian bandmate, Stevie Jackson, that comes through on Parking Lot and Extreme Moderation.

It’s their take on Geoff Farina’s Your Life to Live which sees the band leave the power pop envelope that overarches across most of the album though – its eerie, lo-fi quality feels somewhere between The Beat Happening and Yo La Tengo – and it’s a skin the pair are definitely comfortable in.

So dig out your Walkman, and get these twelve tracks copied over to a TDK D90 – these songs from Northern Britain really are ones you can invest and believe in.