Details: Glasgow/London duo of Ray Aggs (Trash Kit, Shopping) and Eilidh Rodgers (Golden Grrrls) took their roots in the punk world and wound it together with myriad influences, from Afrobeat through pop and post-punk, to create a glorious and unique hybrid. Strike a Match, the band's urgent and infectious debut, was released on Mogwai's Rock Action label in 2017 and won the prestigious Scottish Album of the Year Award that same year. It garnered warm critical acclaim, receiving a 7.7 from Pitchfork who said that the band's "tightly-wound art punk unspools their anxiety and turns it into something worth celebrating." That success was quickly capitalized on with another full-length effort, the band's second LP Run Around the Sun, which was released in 2019. More than five years have now passed since that release, and while Sacred Paws' absence wasn't necessarily deliberate, it was certainly intentional, with Ray and Eilidh deciding that rather than force the work, they would take as long as they felt they needed to produce the album they knew they were capable of. Jump Into Life, the lush and layered new album from Sacred Paws, is proof that such a journey was both necessary and significant. Composed of 11 new songs, it takes the roots of the Sacred Paws project and breathes fresh life into it, blossoming into something both abundant and more colorful than has come before-a gentle skewing of their signature sound that feels wildly thrilling. Opening track "Save Something" sets an immediate tone, beautiful strings adding an emotional depth that wraps itself around the listener. "This song has been really special to us ever since we first wrote it, and we wanted to make it as big as possible," they say of the track. "We've never written anything that comes this close to being a ballad, but we're really proud of it. It's a pretty simple breakup song but one that's trying to also be as hopeful and loving as possible." That thematic thread, of remaining positive in the face of heartbreak, weaves throughout the record, and it breeds affection the more explicitly it reveals itself, both in sound and sentiment. Lead single "Another Day" exemplifies this broadening shift in their palette. Gorgeous vocal harmonies and a real pop spirit are underpinned by banjo and fiddle that lend the track a playful edge but also a real heartfelt sheen to the whole thing, a forthright step into something bold and new. "Turn Me Down" ripples with the unyielding spirit of their more recognizable African and roots influences, the vocal harmonies again lending the track a world-weary edge that allows the whole thing to linger long after the song is wrapped up. Elsewhere, "Fall for You" feels emblematic of the album's overall impact. Finding Sacred Paws at their riff-y best, the shifting and unique time signatures mirror the song's lyrics that depict that feeling of being right on the precipice of emotional devastation while fighting to stay balanced. The whole thing is brought together with sweeping strings and a gritty guitar solo that adds a dramatic new edge to their sound. Personal catharsis through music is nothing new, but Sacred Paws attack their own demons with a gutsy, characterful heft across Jump Into Life. It's still every bit as infectious and vital as what's come before, but it funnels those moments of heady release through feelings of heartbreak, healing, and renewal. "It's definitely a Sacred Paws record, but it feels a bit older and wiser," the pair explain of their new chapter. With their signature sense of fervor, Sacred Paws continue to hurtle forward, jumping into life, embracing that forward motion that stops lingering in the shadows of life's messiness. Full of endearing energy and buoyed by new sounds, textures, and character, Jump Into Life is both a callback and an evolution, unafraid to reveal it's warm and heavy beating heart, even with all the anxiety such a thing entails.

Sacred Paws - Jump Into Life (CD)