The Tubs don’t need to reinvent the wheel on their second album. Instead the Welsh band laid down nine jangle pop bops on Cotton Crown. The album is a perfectly solid record from a band who are proving themselves to be consistent generators of catchy folk rock tunes.

The band are part of a collective called Gob Nation that originated from the former members of indie punks Joanna Gruesome, and also includes groups like Ex-Void and Sniffany & The Nits. The Tubs have proved themselves to be the Gob band to watch with their 2023 debut album Dead Meat, which packed nine chiming guitar rock songs in just 26 minutes. On Cotton Crown, they’ve pulled a similar trick: Nine songs, but this time around a half an hour.

Sometimes, albums that don’t break the album mark feel like they speed by so quickly that you can’t enjoy the minor details. This is not the case with Cotton Crown which uses its short run time to jam in as many hooks as possible.

Opener “The Thing Is” ambles along pleasantly, and provides a good overview of the Tubs’ sound: The jangle of acoustic and electric guitars, and the harmonies of singer Owen Williams and regular collaborator Lan McArdle. Another key element of The Tubs sound is the voice of Williams, which sounds all the world like that of British folk great Richard Thompson. On “The Thing Is”, Williams uses that voice to sing about breakups and homesickness through the perspective of an unlikable protagonist.

The single “Freak Mode” is a little more rollicking than the first track, adding a bit of a post-punk edge to the layers of guitars, bringing off an R.E.M. feel to the song. Williams knows his way around a chorus, and while “Freak Mode” doesn’t have an immediately gripping one, it will work its way into your brain eventually.

On the other hand, “Chain Reaction” does have an anthemic, memorable chorus that Williams sings sweetly in contrast to his punkish spit on the verses. The album’s other six songs continue much in the vein of these three: a mix of ringing guitars with Williams’ switching between his honeyed quiver and a snarl, often with a big melodic chorus. This is not quite a new formula, but it’s well used for a reason, and a band doesn’t have to do much with it to make great songs.

Throughout Cotton Crown, Williams shines as a talented lyricist with a keen eye for detail. Nowhere is this more apparent than closer “Strange”. The song is about the aftermath of the 2015 death of Williams’ mother, folk singer Charlotte Grieg. “Strange” gets granular about Williams’ feelings after Grieg died, from reading an online obituary to the way people treated and talked to him afterward. The song is sunny and upbeat musically, contrasting with the dark subject matter. The music of “Strange” recalls the wistful folk rock of 10,000 Maniacs over the frenetic pulse of early R.E.M.. The song presents a minor key take on the Tubs’ sound that is perfect for the subject matter.

While Cotton Crown doesn’t change up the Tubs’ formula much, it presents a confidence in, and a refinement of, their trademark sound. This record is from a band that knows who they are, and it’s a compulsive listen to hear this band to hear them do what they do best. Cotton Crown is worth a listen to anyone who loves rollicking guitar pop and celebrates the history of the style, from The Byrds to The Smiths to the Gin Blossoms to Real Estate. It makes a good case that the Tubs are band to watch to in the jangle pop world.

Cotton Crown is available now for purchase on the Tubs’ Bandcamp page.