8/10

After making a huge impact with their breakthrough debut EP 'Party Food' last year, Isle Of Wight's Coach Party have been moving from strength to strength ever since. With a sound that always shows them up for a good time, their blistering mix of gritty 90s grunge and spritely indie-pop has had far reaching influences and found them an international fanbase in the months since. So with the buzz still very much alive, they now return with their eagerly-awaited sophomore EP 'After Party', a release that looks to continue that upward trend as far as possible.

While its title may lead some to see this collection as more of a lo-fi offering, implicating that 'After Party' will lack the same vibrancy as 'Party Food', it couldn't be further from the truth as they look to smash out one anthemic jam after another. From the very start, this new six-track release delivers a firm and grizzled jab, hook and then uppercut as it moves its way through the various guises we have heard from them so far. A mixture of upbeat party tunes and more sombre efforts, they show a far more dexterous angle to their sound on here, which makes for compelling listen throughout.

While this EP will no doubt be received with cries for a full-length album, 'After Party' works perfectly well in the state it is already in. Never outstaying its welcome, it unveils a bold and robust direction that shows exactly why so many are latching onto their sound of late. If an LP is on the horizon, it will no doubt be one of the most anticipated of the moment.