STONE - Punkadonk 2

While the idea of ‘overnight success’ has largely been explained away, it did seem as if the whole of Merseyside decided on a whim to back one metaphorical horse as STONE emerged, choruses fully-formed, and with a trail of fist-pumping indie kids in tow. That frontman Fin Power is the son of one of the city’s most celebrated sons - Cast and The La’s John Power - won’t have hurt, but the foursome’s reputation came also thanks to their compelling live presence and an uncanny ability to draw huge choruses out of thin air. ‘punkadonk 2’ is, as the name suggests, a successor of sorts to 2022 release ‘punkadonk’, and the six-track EP acts as another split-second capture of the band’s progress - and a look towards where they’re headed. At times, it’s as if they’ve taken the past three decades’ indie releases and borrowed from all; ‘Compulsive’, one of the newer tracks here, moves from early Alex Turner in the verses to fully Liam Gallagher come the chorus, while ‘Left Right Forward’ does similarly between Mike Skinner’s observational wit - in this instance, pure homage - to Sports Team shoutalong chaos. And if, among all this, the radio-friendly choruses bring to mind Liverpool’s last big indie exports, it’ll come as no surprise that Circa Waves’ Kieran Shudall is Fin’s songwriting partner in crime on both the baggy-indebted ‘I Gotta Feeling’ and explosive ‘I’m Still Waiting’. Both earworms and a summer of flying festival pints await.