Even if you haven’t gone out of your way to listen to Born Ruffians before, you probably heard their most famous hit, ‘Hummingbird’, on an Orange advert a few years ago. It’s that song that begins similarly to The Futureheads’ ‘Hounds Of Love’, i.e. with cuckoo-like vowel sounds popping around in a chirpy fashion (Youtube it – you’ll know it when you hear it).That indie-pop nugget came from Born Ruffians’ debut album, Red, Yellow & Blue, which consisted mainly of average indie songs that fizzed with happiness. Say It still holds on to that buzzy vibe, but it seems as though the band’s idea tank and energy is slowly running out.

At least sixty percent of the songs on Say It sound alike, blurring into an indistinguishable and unmemorable blob of jangly indie/post-punk. ‘Oh Man’, the first track, starts off well with an intriguing daze of Sonic Youth-like slurring chords. It develops into a bath of slippery punctuated guitar licks and surf-pop triads, teamed with a lapping Violent Femmes-style bass line and basic pencil-tapping-on-desk drums. The song does go on a bit, but it’s harmless enough. Trouble is, when you hear very similar tracks again during the album disguised under different monikers, including ‘Higher & Higher’ and ‘Retard Canard’, the summery haze that glowed at the start gets muggy and irritating.

In fairness, there are some small sections of the album that show a tad more creativity. ‘The Ballad of Moose Bruce’ is an animalistic fusion of Krautrock spacey reverb, palpitating drums and cutesy riffs that sound surprisingly good together. The first single offSay It, ‘Sole Brother’, has a stripped-back beat that mooches around crisp guitars loaded with treble. Paired with LaLonde’s pitch-leaping yelps and the odd bit of token shouting for atmosphere, it is the stand-out track amongst a sea of samey tunes. If you’re already a big fan of Born Ruffians and want more of the same pared down indie-pop, Say It might live up to your hopes. On the flipside, if it’s something more ear-catching and varied you’re after, then there’s a chance that this sophomore album could be a tedious let down.