The selling out of both their debut 7” and introductory EP Tragic Loss; He Had Such A Lovely House will have put Post War Glamour Girls in good stead for the new year and the imminent release of debut long player Pink Fur. Recorded with Lee Smith and Jamie Lockhart (The Cribs, Forward Russia) at Leeds’ Greenmount Studios, the album offers a cinematic, macabre and theatrical twist on stygian post-punk.

A grandeur which falls just short of theatricality can either enhance or ebb a band’s cohesiveness. Post War Glamour Girls are one of those bands who dip the pen in the proverbial ink, but manage to stay above the line where idiosyncrasy becomes wince inducing.

Kicking off the LP, “Sestra” ominously trundles through stages of muted plucking, gnarled crescendos and an unblemished, echoing twinkle that adjoins the two. All the while a bittersweet matching of the washed vocals of bassist/vocalist Alice Scott and coarse snarls of guitarist/vocalist James Smith ensue; this time beginning with the spectral purring of Scott – “A murder of crows swept out of the blue, they descend upon your dress/ I won’t intervene if you want me to, I can assure you it happens for less”. It exhibits the group’s skill for composition on a progressive and rarely trodden path and, following a number of listens (as it may take one a few to get stuck in to the album), emerges as one of the standout tracks.

“Red Terror” also shines brighter than most, beginning with their trademark eerie vocals and descending into a distorted, emotive and downright blissful post-punk haze, which is over all too soon (thankfully, it returns a rabid solo augmentation at the end).

“Stolen Flowers Rust” begins with pop hues and saturated, psychedelic sounds befoer sampled screaming enters the mix until shattering into incinerating howls and a riff that makes you want to kick strangers. It shows glimpses of their metallic brutality that appears at points throughout. “Lightbulb” again shows hints of psychedelic pop but offers a more subtle approach than “Stolen Flowers Rust”, exhibiting a band with more than one trick up their darkened sleeves. “Brat” closes the album and best showcases their flair for cinematic, high octane songs with grandiose ascensions.

There are moments that feel a little bit forced, and some times that’ll leave a listener underwhelmed, but Pink Fur contains more than enough sections to make one lose ones shit. All they need is a little refining.