The sophomore album from Edinburgh alt electro-pop trio Racecar is an explosion of genres and styles, each track opening up multiple trap doors that reveal endless sonic halls and corridors to explore. Opener ‘Lay Me Down’ begins with indie-influenced springy drums and bright guitars. It’s a reserved start to the record, which ultimately heads in a more chaotic but emotionally honest direction. ‘The Big One’ emerges with a beautiful first-verse melody, steadily building with a fuller bass line and layers of guitars, synths and strings, before releasing into huge electronic catharsis. 

From there the Pandora’s box is flung open as we weave between raw vocals and piano motifs in ‘Lullaby’, trad strings in ‘Zephyr’, hyper pop-esque production in ‘Nightshow’, and Europop territory in ‘Wolf’. Orchestration of a song such as ‘Fall Leave’ sounds as though it’s been lifted from a modern musical-theatre production, an air of sentimental irony wafting around in a way that is so saccharine it kind of works. Meanwhile a funky warbling bass and filthy breakdown in ‘Inevitable’ feel anything but. 

Racecar’s knack for writing gorgeous melody lines, often played on piano or sung by lead vocalist Izzy Flower, gives the collection a contemporary elegance reminiscent of current experimental bands such as Jockstrap or Porridge Radio. But a knowing playfulness, perfectly exemplified in the record’s artwork (a literal pink car, as an apt follow-up to the eponymous orange vehicle of their first album), gives the impression that this project has a sillier conceptual undercurrent. 

Pink Car is self-released on Friday 7 March.