If Rainsound gave them the "album of the month", a while back, it wasn't by chance: Splendid's first album was a collection of fine Crowded House/Aztec Camera oriented pop songs, as simple as they were delicious. When we got to know about them it was about two years after their debut album was released, and by that time the band was already in the studio to record what it was going to be the unavoidably "longawaited" second album. And here it is, "Pull Me In". The Crowded House and Aztec Camera are still there (this time, the former more than the latter), but the sound is deeper and more mature, with the rhythm guitar's sound denser and rockier than in the previous album. Then the melody's still there, and so are the singalongs. The first four tracks are breathtaking, and the tunes stick to your mind even before the songs are over. The Godfather Part III's crescendo (along with its suberp backing vocals) and The Only One's catchy chorus are maybe the highlights of an album that confirms Alan Windram's amazing talent and the close-knit quality of a band who is obviously eager to break through to the so-called mainstream. Yet, Splendid have a couple of things to improve: first (and again), the lyrics: Alan Windram can certainly write better and less banal things than "And I feel so empty/ And I feel so cold/ I need someone to fill up/ This hole in my soul" (not that Noel Gallagher can write any better, to be honest); second, the arrangements and the mixing: after 'Waiting' (and occasionally before), Steve Watt's bass guitar is so difficult to hear and its lines are so "shy" that the sound comes out poor on the whole, and tracks like 'You Can Do It' and 'Sunbeam' turn out to be somehow neglectable, and fail to keep up the intensity of the first half of the album. On the other hand, Splendid's capability to vary the rhythm in some of the songs ('Shining On You' above all) is always a nice surprise and proves how great a radio-friendly song writer Windram would be. Songs like these are Splendid's real trademark, and their sound is practically unmistakable. To order a copy of the album, please visit Splendid's web site. The band are giving you a money-back guarantee, but you will find 'Pull Me In' a very difficult album to return.