On their debut album A Dream Outside, London four-piece Gengahr proved themselves instant masters of a wistful, sweet-yet-sinister type of indie-pop. Slinky and glistening, it was a sunny day escape wrapped up in fantastic, otherworldly imagery. 'Carrion' - their first hint at A Dream Outside's incoming follow-up - is an altogether different beast. Frontman Felix Bushe's inimitable falsetto has been replaced by something far more snarling, each line seemingly dragged from the back of his throat, laced in scorn and sarcasm. It's matched by its musical backing, too - where once Gengahr relied on bright and breezy atmospherics, 'Carrion' hits more like a hurricane. Post-punk passages are sewn together with a needling, jagged guitar solo, and there's malice in every second, those rosy, butter-wouldn't-melt smiles of that debut album replaced by bared teeth and a wide-eyed stare. Amping up the energy and scuffing up their cleaner edges, Gengahr's second strike looks set to send them stratospheric. - TC