FOR all the praise dripped on Nine Black Alps' debut, it was hard to hear past the sound of a frighteningly good bedroom guitarist reliving his heroes' greatest moments. This time, however, Sam Forrest seems to be finding a voice that's almost his own from a wealth of healthy ingredients that include Nirvana's power, Lemonheads' melody, Stone Roses' funk, Oasis at their more surreal and various Crazy Horse/Zep riffs.

But there's other stuff as well - Byrds-ish asides, splashes of The La's even. Pert and accessible, Love/Hate has been given a bright sound by Oasis knob twiddler Dave Sardy and it benefits Sam's songs - Bitter End and Burn Faster comprise a scorching opening brace, while Future Wife's smooth complexities suggest lessons learned from Brian Wilson's back pages.