- Upon the release of the hypnotic leading single ‘Alligator’, fans of quintessentially Melbourne garage duo Super Wild Horses were given reason to think that perhaps their sophomore album ‘Crosswords’ was capable of matching the hysteria that swelled around 2010’s wildly popular debut ‘Fifteen’. And they were more than correct. Crosswords is a dynamic and inspiring follow up to the distortion heavy, bread and butter simplicity that made ‘Fifteen’ such a fantastic, unintimidating and most importantly, eye opening introduction to the sound of BFFs Hayley Mckee and Amy Franz. The album is a defining patch on the mismatched quilt that is Australia’s constantly burgeoning lo-fi and DIY scene.

With its entirety recorded in an unused butter factory just outside of Castlemaine in Victoria, 13 out of 22 tracks remain salvaged from the cutting room floor and create the disparate journey that is ‘Crosswords’. Heavily laced with pop perfection, distorted, reverb heavy lovelorn ballads and swelling Breeders-esque harmonies, it’s easy to understand why the 2 year absence of Super Wild Horses incited so much anxiety.

Setting itself apart from debut ‘Fifteen’ with its fuller arrangements, the helping hands of Rick Milanovic of Twerps and Boomgates fame and Bitch Prefect and Peak Twins’ Liam Kenny and a seemingly more daring and measurably darker output of tracks, the thirteen tracks progress far beyond the youthful naivety of the more light hearted Fifteen and could be its moodier, sultrier, older sister whose just taken up smoking and has just had her heartbroken by a rather badly behaved young dude. With its woozy vocals and slow moving, primitive bass lines it’s hard to believe upon seeing the two girls play live that they are highly spirited and motivated young women seeing as a sublime cover of Smokey Robinson’s ‘You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me’ at track 5 is utterly heart wrenching and could only be the product of a really shitty break up.

But then we’re introduced to love songs such as ‘Waikiki Romance’ and ‘Meant For Two’ that are warming, garage pop anthems which unleash pure unadulterated, puppy-eyed, honeymooner type love and all preconceived notions of angst are totally and utterly quashed. Crosswords can be whatever you want it to be: the album to warm your throughout a breakup, to warm you with the promise of true love or to needlessly cry to whether young or old, male or female, small or tall. It’s an album that’s incapable of fitting any sort of mould, echoing 50s Lesley Gore or 90s Breeders or 70s The Raincoats. Hayley and Amy have freed themselves from any kind of genre related code of practice and as a result we’re entitled to have as much listening time with ‘Crosswords’ as we please, and every damn second is like chicken soup for the damaged soul.

- Lizzie Irwin.