FRANK CARTER & THE RATTLESNAKES Vinilo y CD

Review: It's not often a band can invoke claustrophobia and agoraphobia in a single album. Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes have been building their reputation on a punk rock-desert guitar hybrid over the course of four albums, and on LP number five, Dark Rainbow, the juxtaposition has rarely been clearer. Some tracks seem wonderfully lost in the wilderness, while others are in the throes of a sweat-soaked basement gig. The contrast between opener 'Honey', with its high energy raucousness, and the more patient and emotionally vulnerable 'Man of the Hour', track two, is enough to show what we mean, although there are starker reminders of this quieter, aching side. 'Sun Bright Golden Happening', for instance, is a soft piano stunner, 'Can I Take You Home' feels so delicate you could almost break it without realising.