'Going Under' continues in the indie/pop vein and comes across like it was expertly recorded on a bouncy castle in Andy Miller's house of fun as it jaunts and jives for the required time limit of three minutes before giving way to a track that's like a Scottish lilting version of Weezer's Hash Pipe as it stabs you in the chops with dense bass and guitar twinned with a thunking drum-beat. 'The Stand Off' is anything but a stand off as it trades the juddering for the finesse of guitars and electronica before getting all Weezerfied again. Returning to the previously mined country/blues shafts for 'Body' which is a deftly stringed acoustic number that's the soulful centrepiece of 'Tear It Open' and it's beautifully played out with lush strings and harmonica with lyrics of desperation and loneliness After the lull we are returned full force via 'Threads' that stomps all over your facial parts. Not doing a line-dance or anything, just more of a jump-around style-ee. 'Slow Decay' keeps up the driving rhythm of the album as it builds, then stops, then starts, then becomes Green Day, then drifts back to conventional rock n' roll. All wrapped up in 50's harmonies it's the perfect combination funnily enough in order to get two and a half minuted of musical cake. 'Dangerous Boy' edges towards a darker side of Le Reno Amps and after the previous 8 tracks it comes as a bit surprising and a little out of place sitting with all this country/pop/rock etc. The mood of the instrumentation deepens and the vocals become more caustic, there's even moody sirens - it's an interesting track but seems a little out of place. Maybe Le Reno Amps are just flexing a little musical muscle?!


'Send Me On My Way' (Altsounds Send Me On My Way Review) was the first release from 'Tear It Open' and it's easy to see why as it's the perfect summarisation of the album with it's full on country rock splurge that's effortlessly full of driving rhythms and jangling guitars whilst once again distilling the Scottish vocals into a wonderful harmonious delivery. Seemingly telling the tale of heading of to sea and leaving loved ones behind that possibly might never return. Yes, a heady tale for such upbeat tunefulness but it works. Finishing up with 'The Gilded Road' which takes an all together different tact from all the previous tracks and possibly hints at what's to come from Le Reno Amps as it's a slow build of electronica and guitars (see krautrock I did not deceive) and once again follows a darker path but is more effective this time around delivering a more powerful full-on rock track and sounds at one point like it's going to break off into The Beatles - She Came In Through The Bathroom Window. Unfortunately it doesn't, instead just deciding to belt guitars in a cacophony of rock.

To summarise, 'Tear It Open' is nothing original but where do you find that these days? Instead, what Le Reno Amps have done is taken existing elements from the musical spectrum and fused them together to create a warm and fun filled record that is perfect for sunny days out drinking a beer or alternatively riding horses through the canyon or of course sound tracking any impending gunfights that you may have booked. One thing is for certain it won't be long till Le Reno Amps join that long list of much vaunted Scottish acts that just love to play music to bring a smile to your face.