Sir Chloe - Swallow The Knife

On debut ‘I Am The Dog’, Sir Chloe’s Dana Foote meshed together ‘90s rock influences and her affinity with the weird; the songs were just as likely to conjure a ‘huh’ moment as the image of her embracing a sheep on the record’s sleeve. Two years later, ‘Swallow The Knife’ continues largely with that familiar indie-rock sound, from the Pixies-esque ‘Complicated’ to the lulling, emotive ‘Eyes’, via a selection that never veers too far from her safety zone but offers a range of sounds nonetheless. Dana’s strength surely comes from her vocal range, the lower register of which is particularly strong at emotion: ‘Passenger’, for example, finds her channelling pain in her delivery to perfectly mirror the song’s glum sound. Better still, ‘Kiss’ bristles with rage, a crunchy riff the cherry on top of a song with an immediate chorus and superb end refrain: “I don’t want love / I want revenge”. It’s a bit patchier elsewhere: opener ‘The Hole’ plays well with dynamics and flirts with grunge, and ‘Take It’ is a rare occurrence of spoken word not risking cringe; ‘Forget It’, meanwhile, suggests darkness but can’t help but beg for more bass - a sound immediately audible on ‘Holy’, which is otherwise a wholly forgettable song. A little safe in parts, yet still a satisfying return.