Flyte

This Is Really Going To Hurt

The record is certainly clever but feels stripped back in comparison to their 2017 debut, now relying mostly on pointed lyricism that deftly avoids pretension.

A collection of poignant songs handpicked by a band that excels in conveying emotion through sound and breaking your heart one harmony at a time.

On This Is Really Going To Hurt, singer Will Taylor's characteristic black humour still cloaks the West Coast harmonies of "Everyone's A Winner”, but the emotion cuts deep, and “Losing You" beautifully evokes the emptiness of post-breakup existence.

A refined 10 song document that cycles through moods and tones, ‘This Is Really Going To Hurt’ is perhaps the finest example yet of Flyte’s undoubted artistry, and offers yet more proof that they remain one of the country’s most underrated groups.

The strengths of Loved Ones remain: super-tight harmonies course through the Crosby, Stills & Nash-esqe There's A Woman and Mistress America; a complex musical fragility underpins the catchy Easy Tiger and l've Got A Girl.

Like most break-up albums, ‘This Is Really Going To Hurt’ is self-indulgent. There are moments of relatability, but for the most part, Taylor’s fury steamrolls everything.

Flyte’s This Is Really Going to Hurt begins as gentle indie-pop but swerves hard into ’60s pop pastiche about halfway through.

While it’s clear Flyte’s heads live somewhere in ‘70s California, their melodies always kissed by the requisite amount of sunshine, ‘This Is Really Going To Hurt’ doesn’t exactly say much about the group themselves.