Fusing jangling C86 indie with Sonic Youth dissonance and riot grrrl-inspired vocals, Joanna Gruesome’s 2013 debut, Weird Sister, was a deserving winner of the Welsh Music prize. On the surface, the follow-up, once again produced by Hookworms’ MJ, doesn’t deviate radically from that template, and it certainly has its moments – Honestly Do Yr Worst in particular highlighting Alanna McArdle’s vocal versatility. But the winning hooks that made Weird Sister so special are few and far between this time around, making for a disappointingly unremarkable set. Indeed, despite only lasting 22 minutes, towards its end Peanut Butter feels more gruelling than gruesome.
