8/10

More than a decade on from their debut, Sea Lions return sounding less interested in recapturing what they were than in seeing how far that original charm can stretch.

'Another POP! Music', the Oxnard outfit’s long-awaited second album, moves away from the scrappy, twang-heavy energy that defined their 2011 debut and into something more reflective. The melodies are still immediate, but the edges have softened and the writing feels more inward-looking, with psychedelia, balladry and moodier passages opening up the band’s palette.

Lead singles 'Head In The Clouds' and ‘Can’t Say No’ makes that evolution evidently clear. There's still a looseness to their playing, but it now sits alongside a more considered sense of atmosphere. Throughout this new material, the band allow space, tone and melody to do more of the work.

It's a shift that gives 'Another POP! Music' a pleasing sense of maturity without making it feel overly polished. Sea Lions haven't abandoned the qualities that made their earlier material appealing; they've simply widened the frame. Twang and indie-pop sweetness remain part of the picture, but they now coexist with hazier textures and slower, more contemplative moments.

Patient, melodic and quietly adventurous, the album proves that Sea Lions’ return is a wonderfully thoughtful second chapter from a band willing to let its sound grow older with it.