Much has changed for electropop practitioners Years & Years since 2018’s Palo Santo album. Not only are they two members lighter – it’s now a solo vehicle for occasional actor Olly Alexander (It’s a Sin) – but that second album’s convoluted conceptual framework has been shaken off in favour of 14 sweat-soaked bangers that focus on pent-up carnal desires.
“Give me it now,” Alexander purrs on the undulating Intimacy, a classy tale of lust that suggests a hotel was involved (“tie me to a four-poster,” he requests). The pulsating Crave and the cheeky Muscle (“don’t want to leave without your body”) drag the listener on to sticky nightclub floors. Sex is also explored on 20 Minutes, with its urgent need for pleasure after months of isolation played out over a keening, surprisingly delicate melody.
All that transience throws up its own problems, however, with Sweet Talker – a disappointingly lightweight slither of dance-pop playlist catnip – mourning a lack of honesty. Alexander is better channelling any introspection into songs that reflect the morning after, with late album highlight Make It Out Alive giving Night Call a narrative arc via a post-big-night-out soother.
