Socratic are returning to the scene with their second album, ‘Spread The Rumors.’ Following on from 2005’s ‘Lunch For The Sky.’ They are an embodiment of the Drive Thru Records spirit; writing good music that they love and are more than willing to tour their asses off in order to promote it and sell it. Socratic appeal immediately with opener ‘Boy In A Magazine’ setting the tone for what is overall a confident and composed album. The songs have grown, developed and evolved somewhat from what was available on their previous offering.

The piano blends into the music much more now and they offer more coercion as a full band rather than a band with a pianist. Everything is so sweet and melodic, listening to Socratic is like forgetting about your life and your problems for twelve blissful songs. There’s nothing too complex and nothing to catch you off guard, they do offer similar qualities to Motion City Soundtrack in this sense, although their not quite as fast or upbeat. Despite that they don’t lose any of that value.

‘Long Distance Calls’ introduces their good humour in dealing with sometimes less than humourous situations. This take is refreshing and allows Socratic to stand out from many bands, you get the feeling they don’t take themselves as seriously and overall are enjoying making the music rather than the whole deal of being in a band. ‘Relevant Elephant’ is a stand out song, not only for the name; but it also offers a catchy little number of a song and the hooks are memorable. ‘Don’t Say’ is a sign of how the band are developing, the almost impromptu change of pace half way through the song is a nice touch and shows that there’s more than simple songwriting behind these songs.

‘This Opinion of Mine’ is another glorious song and the way it slips into ‘The Diamond in a World of Coal’ is a nice touch. This penultimate song is a classic piano led ballad and deserves as much mention as the catchy, upbeat moments of the album as it demonstrates Socratic’s brilliant penchant for depth and character. The songs combine to create a brilliant collection of contemporary rock songs. Socratic may not set the world alight, they strike as more of a cult-inducing band, but nonetheless this is good music on face value and also for those who delve deeper. Socratic have made a great sophomore album, one which is worthy of everybody taking time to get to know it, it doesn’t disappoint.