Fräulein - Sink Or Swim 

Coming in at seven songs and three interludes, ‘Sink or Swim’ offers treats both raucous and rowdy, but still maintains an easily connectable emotional thread. The fuzzy riffs of ‘Wait And See’ are gloriously uplifting but nevertheless retain a sense of danger, and ‘Last Drop’ feels so DIY garage-rock that it can only come from a band ultimately still in their infancy, yet still hints at fantastic things. The individual performances of Joni Samuels on vocals and guitar, and drummer Karsten van der Tol, are both impassioned and elastic, nowhere more so than on the exquisite ‘Feeling Good’, which opens delicately in the vein of Mazzy Star before blossoming into a head-banging feast for the senses. ‘Sink Or Swim’ sees Fräulein sounding urgent and huge, ripe for sweat-soaked club rooms, but on this evidence, they’re also clearly ready to make the move to larger stages.