Norwegian four-piece Animal Alpha have already lit the touch paper in their homeland with an eleven-label bidding war at the culmination of their first tour, and the release of their debut EP and Sylvia Massey (Smashing Pumpkins, Tool, SOAD) produced, gold-certified first album. Now it’s the turn of UK music fans to cower before the crazy-woman antics of Agnete Kjolsrud and co on this, their second long player.

Alternating between some of the most ferocious female rock vocals of the last few years, and baby-gurgling noises, this woman is not just Courtney Love-crazy, Melissa Auf De Maur-mad or even L7-loopy; she’s properly off the chain and then some!  Previous hit single “Bundy”, included here as the opening track for those who missed its appearance on debut album “Pheromones”, is as vicious and unpredictable as its namesake and Kjolsrud revels in screaming “shut your face” over the frenetically murky riffs and unrelenting rhythm her band mates provide.  It sets the standard high for the rest of the album, and save some Evanescence-style blandness here and there (“Pin You All” and “Alarm”), it lives up to the promise of this fiery opener.

Animal Alpha are at their best when Kjolsrud is let off the leash, and allowed to scare the bejesus out of you - “Fire! Fire! Fire!” is just the sort of title that this band had to have on their album, but its made all the better as Kjolsrud is allowed to spew forth the vitriol that you feel she bottles up on slower tracks.  Equally, whilst “Master of Disguise” allows her to theatrically broaden her range, it barely contains her wont to indulge in her own version of some Korn-esque demonic rapping/babbling.

Just as you begin wishing the quieter, more operatic tracks had been omitted or beefed up, “In The Barn”, almost Portishead in its meandering style and the longest track on offer here, sees Kjolsrud keeping it together and allowing the quality of her singing (rather than screaming) voice to wash over the post-rock landscape for five excellent minutes.

They really are a mixed bag, Animal Alpha, but you can’t help feeling that this is Kjolsrud’s show and the band evolves according to her mood.  If the quality of their future output can match the high points here (and this will be no easy feat), then Animal Alpha will have nothing to fear and fans will amass very quickly.

Stuart Bowen