Album Review: MS MR - Secondhand Rapture

Their tantalising four-track EP Candy Bar Creep Show put MS MR on the map; the handful of hauntingly sweet, cinema-noir pop gems proving to be a great introduction to the duo whom no one knew anything about. But now the Brooklynites have dropped their debut record, Secondhand Rapture, and instead of utilising the extra space of a full length to showcase the breadth of their artistic capabilities, we are fed regurgitated ideas and an over-use of tom-tom-heavy power-pop anthems.

Secondhand… sees all four tracks from the EP recycled and dispersed amongst very similar-sounding newbies. MS MR have concocted all the musical trends of the past three years and presented them in this album. The majority of the tracks are 'uplifting' and 'dramatic' in a Florence Welch kind of way, making it feel outdated. When a record is jam-packed with dramatic indie-pop anthems, the immediate appeal wears thin after a few songs. Unfortunately for MS MR, this record lives up to its name – perhaps it was their purpose? – as it's more of a tribute to 2010 than anything new.

Once you've mulled through the fillers there are a couple notable attention-grabbing additions. There's a story stirring in the musicality of the country-tinged Salty Sweet, and though it resembles a well-produced Eurovision song, it's a nice break from all the drama. Think Of You is not far off from a Lady Gaga '80s-inspired number, whilst Twenty Seven – that cursed age! – is one of the stronger tracks, with its unsettling piano arpeggios. Sometimes less is more, and the duo have nailed it with the simple and honest track.

Many of the songs on this record do follow in the same, exhausting vein – it's hard to differentiate the chorus of Head Is Not My Home and Dark Doo Wop – but the hidden gems between the bombastic anthems make it a worthwhile listen.