The masters of Indie Pop from Fremantle, West Australia, with talent far beyond their 21 years, San Cisco are back on the scene with their second album Gracetown. This follows on from their 2013 self titled debut on Fat Possum/RCA which featured the earworm classic indie hit Awkward, with it’s 7 million plus views on YouTube.

First single from Gracetown, ‘Run’, has a little bit of everything- handclaps, a catchy bass line, an equally catchy chorus and a fair whack of soul. This is complemented by 11 more eclectic tracks that showcase San Cisco’s ability to capture the hearts and souls of youth today. The new album shows San Cisco growing up, and this growing up is scary and magnificent to behold.

Coming out of the small coastal resort of Fremantle, a beautiful town nestling in the shadow of Perth’s gleaming monoliths and separated from the more fashionable parts of Oz by thousands of miles of red dirt, you might expect the music of San Cisco to be limited in vision, comprising flimsy surf-ditties extolling the ephemeral pleasures of sun, surf and sex. You would be wrong, however.

For while it would be untrue to claim that the unholy trinity of sex, sun and sea are absent from their songs, on their new album, Gracetown, the band — singer Jordi Davieson, Josh Biondillo (guitar), Nick Gardner (bass) and Scarlett Stevens (drums) — extend their sonic palette to new territories.

There is a deeper, chillier feel to songs such as ‘Snow’ and a looser, funkier feel to ones like ‘Jealousy’ that signals a new sophistication and maturity. Less sun, then, and more muted shades, as well as a deeper exploration of the hormonal tangle that is postmodern sexual politics. If there is a band that better explores the ache, paranoia and oestrogen-rush of young love I don’t know it. The album shows San Cisco growing up, and this growing up is scary and magnificent to behold.
San Cisco are not newcomers to the scene, of course.

They released their debut self-titled album in 2012 to international acclaim and have toured the world several times since, headlining shows and festival performances such as Lollapalooza, Pukkelpop and Reading. The fruit of this time on the road is reflected in the new sound, and sound which has paid its dues and has a sharpness born of hangovers, air-miles, homesickness and displacement.