The Hot Puppies released their first EP back in 2002 but they have only just made it into the studio to record their debut album. Recorded above a boxing club in their native Wales it is no surprise to find them coming out fighting.

Singer Becki Newman is leading the charge, and anyone who has caught one of their excellent live performances won’t be surprised to find she features very prominently in the mix on these tracks. It was always going to be key to get their live sound down on record and this is as good as could be expected. The band sound tight and compliment the singing marvellously, especially Luke Taylor on guitar and Rupert Wood on drums.

Terry was a single release earlier this year and is an excellent way to kick off proceedings, from the opening guitar and rumbling bass you are entranced and once the Debbie Harry from the valleys voice kicks in you’d better buckle up as you are in for the ride. Singing about how Terry is “no good for me”, you can sense that she’s not going to stop frequenting him anyway. Breathy backing vocals aid the song along before we get to second track The Bottled Ship Song. With the backing track lifted from the film True Romance, it’s that sort of modern day innocence in love that is best evoked by these songs. “Maybe we’ll sleep through the rest of our lives, oh if anyone cares.” Live favourite, and former Purr single release, Green Eyeliner, rounds out a great opening trio with Beth Gibson’s keyboard playing carrying the song to the sing-along chorus.

Nearly all these songs are first person narrative love songs, a mixture of confusion and lusting that draws you in. A single dating back to 2003 in the form of The Drowsing Nymph is a warranted inclusion and shows why The Hot Puppies are a welcome addition to the current crop of great female fronted atmospheric indie acts, see Howling Bells, Lucky Soul, Long Blondes et al. By the time you are being questioned, “Have you ever had a broken heart?” you’ll have decided whether these are for you or not, and they could be a bit sickly sweet to some. Another criticism is the number of tracks here, numbering 13, losing a couple would have done no harm and improved the flow somewhat. That’s a good problem though, the fact that The Girl Who Was Too Beautiful single features a b-side with the albums title suggests they have not included everything. That single is another highlight, and contrary to my previous live review, is asking advice from Mariella Frostrup about how she can compete with better looking females. Whoever is being asked it’s a joy to listen to.

Love In Practice, Not Theory and torch bearing next single How Come You Don’t Hold Me No More? are still to feature but you’ve already had your moneys worth from this collection of tracks. You may not want to go every round each listen but this is a great album to dip into and it packs a decent punch.

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