Sometimes in life circumstances seem to gather together to screw us over. Be it missing the last train by a second or forgetting your coat on the day it pours down with rain it can feel like life is plotting and there is nothing you can do about it. The three members of Pull Tiger Tail know the extreme of this feeling and as they finally release their début album two years late they must be feeling a slight sense of 'What could have been?'. Emerging in 2006 the London trio made all the appropriate waves in the industry, releasing a series of great singles, playing exciting live shows and even supporting Razorlight on tour- everything looked set for success. However, as they rode the wave of hype a series of problems with their label meant a full length album was never forthcoming leaving the promising band to fall by the way side.

With the red tape torn down however 'Paws.' is now ready to be let out of its cage free to roam in the jungle of this extended metaphor. As soon as the post-punk leanings of '...For No One' kick in the memories of three years ago flood back bringing with them both the positives and negatives of 'Paws'. On the plus side this is a fantastically energetic, passionate and hook filled album packed with the killer songs most new bands would kill for- most bands settle for one or two, Pull Tiger Tail have about six. From the relentless 'Mr 100%' to the lurching 'Loki' most of these songs could be really massive hits for the bands who routinely headline festivals and have their music firmly lodged in the nations Ipods. Singer Marcus Ratcliff's vocals and strong and earnest, perhaps a bit too much at times, but they carry the emotion of songs like 'Hurricanes' and 'Even Good Kids Make Bad Sports' admirably.

What holds 'Paws' back is the sense of nostalgia surrounding it. The indie rock world was very backward thinking three years ago, particularly those who looked to Gang Of Four and Wire as more like templates than influences. Pull Tiger Tail loosely slot into that group alongside say, The Maccabees, but whilst that band have had time to release two albums and grow as song writers Pull Tiger Tail are left flogging their second hand material as if it were brand new. As a result it matters very little what the songs sound like because they are so caught up in that specific period of time they seem to act only as a reminder of the past and fail to feel fresh- even the unheard material like 'Air Born' or 'Eugene' suffer the same fate.

Far from a bad album musically Pull Tiger Tail have been let down by context and chronology, not a usual criticism of a band admittedly, but one that has blunted these tiger teeth significantly.