THIS WEEK I'M LISTENING TO...SANGUINE ‘Cold Blood’ (Odyssey Music)

Ferocious yet captivating, Sanguine’s third full-length release is a real powerhouse of energy and excitement. The UK band (formed just up the road from here, trivia fans, in sunny Exeter) appear to have pulled out all the stops in an effort to deliver a full-throttle juggernaut of an album – one that’s difficult to dismiss and impossible to ignore – and have succeeded marvellously. Serving up ten short ‘n’ sassy numbers (the whole thing is done and dusted in just thirty-five minutes), ‘Cold Blood’ is an album that embraces all labels yet just as easily shrugs them off as the band – vocalist Tarin Kerrey, guitarist/vocalist Nick Magee, bassist Ross Andrew and drummer Matt Feld – plough their own furrow through the metal / alt-rock field with a passion and enthusiasm that marks them out as a band that just MUST make it. This is a band that has songs – real, thoughtfully crafted songs, with hooks and melodies in plentiful supply and bucketloads of aggression to top things off – and the talent and inbuilt drive to muscle their way to the top.

Although the album’s title is apparently centred around the rise in mental health issues, ‘Cold Blood’ delivers its point of view in an obtuse, non-judgemental manner, and is beautifully fashioned with a punchy production and not a weak link in sight. It’s deep, it’s broad, it’s heavy and it’s exhilarating: fire up the Garbage-on-speed ‘Just Believe’ or opener ‘Pressure’ if you need the evidence. Not a bad way for such a well-respected rising young band to round off the year...