Dallas' multiple pop troop The Polyphonic Spree return after a three year break with a new record, The Fragile Army. First single Runnig Away is very much business as usual and ticks all the relevant boxes as to what made the group such life-affirming fun when they first emerged five years ago.
The song is, as ever, riddled with optimism, with dreams of "running away with the wind in our faces" and that everything will be alright "if you let it go". But while Tim DeLaughter's soaring vocals and the celebratory chorus are sure to get indie-pop discos throughout the land on their feet, it feels like the Spree are treading on too much familiar territory here. The fact that it sounds exactly like their career peaking single Light & Day does nothing to dispute this either.
As a live band they still come second to none but with the likes of I'm From Barcelona emerging in the three year gap since the disappointing second record Together We're Heavy, the 23-strong choral army need to get some new ideas in order to prolong some interest in the wider public domain.
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