Indoor Pets have been around and releasing music since 2014 (when they were still Get Inuit) and have toured with the likes of Spring King, Ash and most recently Razorlight.

It should come as no surprise that the debut album from the Kent four-piece, Be Content, consists of 14 well written, well-honed and well thought out tracks.

Opening track ‘Hi’ already feels like it’s been out for ages, despite actually only being released a few months ago. Its combination of upbeat guitars, self-critical lyrics, and catchy chorus create your archetypal Indoor Pets track in the best way. Fan favourite ‘Teriyaki’ is up next and will get even the most casual Indoor Pets listener singing along. The lead guitar hook is still as catchy as ever and the track is made stronger for having been played live for so many years.

New tracks ‘Thick’ and ‘Spill (My Guts)’ both show off a slightly different side to Jamie Glass and co. that we haven’t seen much before. The former starts with a call and response style intro between Glass and a childlike voice. Throughout, the track twists and turns its way for three minutes through stomping drum lead sections to isolated bass and bendy guitar lines before stumbling to a halt to reveal the band putting on some silly voices somewhere in the distance. ‘Spill (My Guts)’ is a pop banger that any songwriter would be proud of and can easily be pictured as a live favourite on the upcoming UK tour the band embark on in April.

‘Pro Procrastinator’ is probably Indoor Pets most well-known track and kicks in at just the right time in the album. Sandwiched in the middle of five new songs it feels like a hug from an old friend and an opportunity to have a good sing along and a boogie before ‘Couch’ which is followed by the fittingly titled ‘Heavy Thoughts’, a dark tune that is reminiscent of early release ‘Electrify’. ‘The Mapping of Dandruff’ features a guitar tone that Johnny Marr would have been proud of back when he was relevant and a light vocoder on Glass’s vocals add an interesting contrast to the sensitive and very human vocals and vocal delivery.

Another song that is easy to picture being belted back at the band in a live scenario is ‘Being Strange’, a celebration of being the unique individual you are is done in a catchy and effective way showing an important message to the young and loyal fans that Indoor Pets have cultivated. ‘Mean Heart’ has clearly grown since its first release and the summery ‘Good Enough’ is guaranteed to get fans dancing in their droves.

‘Barbiturates’ and ‘Cutie Pie, I’m Bloated’ are the last old tracks, with the latter having been released in 2014 before the varied ‘My Amnesiac’ characterizes the varied musical styles throughout the whole album.

Be Content has been a long time coming so had high expectations attached but Indoor Pets have created an album that surpasses these expectations with ease. The mix of new and old songs is perfectly balanced and clever songwriting and production guarantees that the album is varied without lacking cohesion. Be Content is worth 45 minutes of anybody’s time.