For The Grates’ debut album Gravity Won’t Get You High (2006), their signature animal was the giraffe. It was a fitting match: that year, the album towered over all other beasts, made mammoth strides, and won the affection of the people, both here and abroad. Two years later, The Grates present second album, Teeth Lost, Hearts Won: an entirely different animal altogether.

Teeth Lost, Hearts Won album retains The Grates’ trademark shambolic fun, but injects new layers and grunt into the proceedings. This time, Patience, Alana and John come armed with sharpened technical chops, killer arrangements and newfound songwriting oomph. Boasting the combined force of John’s rough-and-tumble guitars, Patience’s signature banshee yelps, and Alana’s churning drums, Teeth Lost, Hearts Won might be a griffin, it might be a Where The Wild Things Are monster. But either way, it’s the sound of a band unafraid to bite.