How ineffably brilliant can a Canadian band be? Let’s consider this debut Hot Panda artefact: the opening track, ‘Cold hands/Chapped lips’, sets the stage with a sickeningly sweet, bubbly sing along style chorus and a bridge that slips into Mudhoney sound-a-like distortion.

But Hot Panda change tactics with every track: one minute the rhythm feels reassuringly conventional, the next minute it’s all strung out and droning. ‘It’s Worth Eight Dollars’, sounds like a B-side from Sonic Youth’s Dirty album but a bit cheekier.”

‘Whale headed girl’ revolves around Cramps-size drums, more blippy keyboards and darting guitar squawks, while ‘Tried Very Hard’ is built on frontman Chris Connelly’s way of treating his voice like a strange instrument, chopping it up and dropping it into the mix. Volcano is plenty animated, but it does lack tunes that truly hi-jack eardrums, which makes it feel like a decent party – fun enough, but soon forgotten.

Chris Purnell