Putting behind their debut ‘Funtimes’ The Heartbreaks second album ‘We May Yet Stand a Chance’ is hard to sum up in one word; it includes a bit of everything and leaves nothing to be desired.

The album kicks off in hypnotic fashion with the glumly titled ‘Paint the Town Beige’. This is short lived however as the second track ‘Absolved’ begins and really allows the album to explode wide open. Once your ears have adjusted to the loud and energetic start, you realise there is one hell of a catchy beat to this track.

It then simmers out into a beautiful riff that slows the song down just in time for singer Matthew Whitehouse to grace us with his presence. His powerful voice soaks up everything around him leaving us wondering what else is to come..

With most good albums there are simple elements that are put to good use and this ‘WMSAC’ is no exception to that. Every track differs and by the time the fourth track begins ‘Robert Jordan’ you simply don’t know what to expect. Yet the imagination of this four-piece band is so amazing they begin with some softly plucked chords by guitarist Ryan Wallace combined with the deep throated voice of Whitehouse.

The LP then goes on a Spanish vibe with ‘iNo Pasaran’ and ‘That Is Not Entertainment’. ‘iNo Pasaran’ or as the English say ‘they shall not pass’ paints clear images of bullfighting where the matador teases the bull which is reflected in the intensity of the song as it erupts into the chorus which is reminiscent of the bull chasing after that red cloth.

Interestingly in ‘That Is Not Entertainment’ the Spanish twist in the tune is blended with blasts of rock that manages to push the Mediterranean element out; however, it’s cleverly rekindled to end the song.

The album is full of strong numbers with ‘Bittersweet’, ‘Fair Stood The Wind and ‘Man Overboard’ , all etched with tangible harmonies which bounce off each other, while ‘Man Overboard’ also ventures into a country rhythm which is a really brave move.

The album ends with two heartfelt tracks, with ‘Rome’ proving to be the lighter of the two. The neat chords allow the song to blossom while the LP’s concluding tune ‘Dying Sun’ returns to the earlier songs of ‘iNo Pasaran’ and ‘This Is Not Entertainment’ for a splash of Spanish.

It’s an upbeat 11 track LP which tries an awful lot; it could be seen as daring, dangerous, catastrophic almost, but it works. It’s a brilliant second album, and is a tribute to the bands hard work.

We May Yet Stand a Chance track listing:

Paint the Town Beige

Absolved

Hey, Hey Lover

Robert Jordan

iNo Pasaran

Bittersweet

Fair Stood the Wind

Man Overboard

This Is Not Entertainment

Rome

Dying Sun