With Altar, NewDad confirm they’ve found an identity that doesn’t deny its debts but reshapes them into their own language: of course, the temptation to play “spot the influence” is strong, and from The Cure / New Order (Pretty, Heavyweight) to Garbage, via Pixies (Roobosh) and Wolf Alice (Misery), the catalogue of references is all there, ready to resurface. And yet, the way Julie Dawson sings gives meaning to it all. She may not summon the late Dolores O’Riordan or Rachel Goswell, but her voice - fragile and relentless at the same time - slots in like velvet between sharp basslines and guitar riffs. It’s in this contrast between release and turbo-charged ennui that the album finds its strength.
There are tracks that hit the mark—Roobosh as a furious outburst, Pretty as a suspended caress, the metallic Misery as a statement of intent—and others that fall short, unable to manage the tension (Sinking Kind Of Feeling) or fading into the background (Puzzle). Compared to Madra, there’s clear growth and a sharper pop edge; what’s still missing, perhaps, are those truly memorable singles that can stick in the mind long after the atmosphere has faded.