Whilst I enjoyed the Polyphonic Spree’s first album “The Beginning Stages of…” they were never really a band that I explored further than that one album and perhaps this has been a mistake on my part given how much I loved “Yes, It’s True”.

The first album was a gloriously positive and uplifting offering from the boys and girls in white robes and “Yes, It’s True” has Tim De Laughter and his throng continuing this theme…though the robes are a little more colourful these days it would appear.

If you’ve not come across Polyphonic Spree before then imagine a psychedelic, indie cult of twenty odd individuals that listened to “Pet Sounds” (a lot) then decided to take to the stage and studio and you’ll not be too far away.

“Yes It’s True” is a celebration of positivity and hope both lyrically and musically and summed up in the line “Raise your head up to the sky, You’ll be free when you try”. OK, so I’ve perhaps painted a picture of this being a bit weak and more style over substance, created by idealistic acid soaked throwbacks to the flower power generation, but that’s not really very fair at all to De Laughter and the band. The tunes are tight and orchestration nicely done – this is pretty complex music with layers and layers of sounds that come together to create a most pleasing whole. There will, of course, be the obvious comparisons to Flaming Lips!

Actually it’s really difficult for me to pull out a stand out track from the album as I really did enjoy every tune but “What Would You Do?”is a magnificently exhilarating and uplifting song and a bit “rockier” than the other songs on the album. But then “Blurry Up the Lines” is equally great! The final track on the album is “Battlefield” which is a lower key affair with De Laughter sounding somewhat more plaintive and the horns in the background only adding to this feeling and it round the album off very nicely indeed.

So a pretty short review but there’s not much more to say really. “Yes It’s True” is a great album that is set to be one of the most played in this household this year I’m sure!

Stuart