Despite the propensity to label this Oxfordshire four-piece with double-barreled witticisms, Poledo’s new EP is pure and simple gold. Where their recent demo, ‘Jesus Christ’, sounds like the constructs of a backwards-cap-wearing, skateboard-toting, Venice Beach boardwalker, Poledo’s newest offering, ‘Kids Don’t Follow’, is more akin to the band belonging to that kid’s older brother. The dangerous one that the younger boy emulates. His room would probably be coated in posters for The Melvins and Bad Brains. It is a more grown-up sound, which is no mean feat considering that their demo was unveiled only a few months ago. It’s Mudhoney, without the angst. Or perhaps just a youth-friendly, slightly diluted outpouring of angst. The tracks are darker, but the energy and garage-band feel is still the same. It is pure, undiluted, cacophonous low-fi punk-pop. The songs merge into one another with round upon round of seemingly unrelenting noise ammunition. This is not the cohesive, teenaged singer-songwriter that everyone has become so accustomed to; this is a sound that will have you reaching for the Red Stripe and heading into the night. The second track, ‘Dark Brown’, opens with vocals bearing an uncanny resemblance to Pixies’ Black Francis. The chorus of “woos” and “oohs” create a sound somewhat like a Beach Boy on acid, a recurring theme throughout the EP. The final track, ‘Start Again’, offers one last twist. It’s full to bursting with lyrics that will have you simultaneously laughing your socks off and covering your eyes with memories of parties-gone-by. The gravelly sound of previous tracks merges into a more melodic offering, the clear twangs of Clements’ guitar now setting themselves apart from the rest of the song. The lyrics that have been drowning under a tsunami of raucous drumming and reverb-ridden riffs have finally learnt to swim. The line “Sammy’s been sick in his ex’s wash basin” shows the tongue-in-cheek songwriting potential that had previously been lost in translation. The entirety of ‘Kids Don’t Follow’ seems to be a coming of age for the band, their music making the transition from a bored adolescent sat at home to a beer-swilling 20-something. This all seems rather apt for a band who used to perform under the pseudonym of Balls. A tip of the (baseball) cap seems to be in order.