Relentlessly performing and honing their craft, Corrie Gillies (vocals, guitar), Lewis Reynolds (drums) were already a frantic on-stage force before they added Jon Arbuthnott (bass) to bring out the razor-sharp melodies and unapologetically fuzzy guitars, hooks by the dozen, artillery-style drumming and perfectly synchronised guitar interplay. Pinact’s brand of pop infused rock is an entity unto itself: “I purposefully didn’t listen to other music while writing and recording, I get lost in my own world”, Gillies says, and the lyricism makes this very clear: ‘Regrettable Thrill’ for example lends more to a bleakly Scottish sense of humour and world-weariness that could only be Gillies. “We intentionally holed ourselves up in the Highlands to focus on bringing out the melodies, and I think that shows,” Gillies explains. The fruits of their labour are evident in anthemic efforts like ‘Oh’, an immediate sing-along, and ‘Seams’, which sees the singer take on challenging vocal parts with consummate ease. ‘Separate Ways’ has an unmistakably Pinact chorus, but with Arbuthnott’s rock-steady bass work, Gillies’ is allowed to play a snaking guitar line over drumming so determined that threatens to burst out of the speaker. While Stand Still and Rot was far from an album of restraint, this is the work of a more versatile outfit, and the song-writing is all the better for it.