Strange New Places have been present on the Belfast music scene longer than most. Making a name for themselves with their 2019 EP ‘Uncomfortable’ before stepping back from the spotlight for a time. They announced their return in 2024 with single ‘Foreign Cities’ before unveiling their debut album ‘Second Puberty’.
A rollercoaster of dancing synth lines, hard hitting riffs and unapologetic lyrical honesty. It’s a fantastic record that combines positivity and an overarching sense of melancholy on a musical journey that has to be heard to be understood.
The album opens in glorious indie synth pop style with three fast paced tracks that will undoubtedly go hard live. Featuring both guitar and synth solos there’s an energy and passion in these tracks that you can’t avoid head banging along to. This energy culminates with ‘Full Of Myself’. It’s a piece of lyrical genius featuring introspection and a commentary on society at large. It’s perhaps the best track on the record and an absolute must listen.
The album relaxes into ‘Coraline’ one of the deserved singles off the album and seamlessly transforms into ‘This City”. A track off their first EP returns here in a shiny new form, perfectly encapsulating that sense of longing to be somewhere else. It was the standout track on their EP and it’s a worthwhile inclusion on the album.
The second half of the album truly embraces the dark humour that’s to be expected from a Strange New Places release. ‘Sleep For Dinner’ wonders on the possibility of never leaving bed, boasting a silly exterior with some darker undertones. It’s followed by ’Asian Supermarket’ a track naturally about a date in an Asian Supermarket.
The title track ‘Second Puberty’ arrives in the albums twilight. A brief pop punk piece that captures the themes of the albums at large making it an understandable choice to name the album after. It fades into ‘Countertop Surface’ another contender for best track on the record. Featuring big gang vocals and an energetic saxophone its got a celebratory feel to it reminiscent of ‘Bleachers’ 2nd record.
Perhaps the most impressive element of ‘Second Puberty’ is the musicianship. Everything is played spectacularly well and everything fits together perfectly. It was an album 5 years in the making and it’s easy to hear that. It’s a meticulously crafted masterpiece with a superb musical backbone to support uncommonly honest lyricism, merging into one of the best albums to come out of Belfast this year.
