SUDS new album opens with Heavy in the air, and you’re immediately hit by the softness of Mae Carter’s voice. Gentle, unforced, and quite the opposite of the over-performed gymnastics that have long defined emo. Her vocals sit closer to a conversational, tender and story-led folk tradition, and this single difference changes the entire emotional weather of the band from fuzzy, simple pop-punk to something with way more heart.

The opener is a fast, summery, bouncy banger and the whole album from this point radiates sincerity. Major-7 chords ring with intricate finger-picked guitar arpeggios spiralling and winding with a buoyant rollick. The male-vocal pairing throughout, especially when the two sing an octave apart, is incredibly comforting. Hook Me Out is built on a lilting and intriguing waltz, verses gently rocking, and the chorus lifting into an even brighter, hammock-swaying rhythm. A signature across the album is the stately trumpet which appears sparingly, but brings a kind of modest and ceremonial colour that’s an unusual choice for an emo-pop record but beautiful every time. SUDS seem to really enjoy making lively, tumbling noise together with little hooky details coming from unexpected corners, and it’s all extremely radio-ready, but in a way that feels warm and cosy rather than corporate and sterile. Tell me about your day again. is exquisitely friendly, and you can hear the collaboration in every corner with little ghost notes on the drums that mirror guitar phrases, and melodic basslines that dance instead of just anchoring the root note. The album welcomes you in instantly, sounding like four people making something beautiful simply because they love doing it together. For all its gentleness, SUDS aren’t shy about running headlong into big, noisy emo crescendos but the vocals refuse every cliché of the genre, remaining understated and sincere.