Review
Guitars bend and detune into shoegaze territory while emergency sirens wail across opening track "CPR," signaling that the Isle of Wight quintet have expanded far beyond the deadpan minimalism of their breakthrough debut. Moisturizer trades sly, detached cynicism for an unabashedly romantic charge, padding its driving post-punk grooves with lush early-90s alternative rock flourishes and unapologetic pop-punk bite.
Writing for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis celebrated the record as "a blast," noting that "the songs are supremely punchy, the tunes contagious" even as Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers pivot toward infatuation and vulnerable yearning. Beats Per Minute similarly observed that "where their debut felt a little more like a grab bag, moisturizer feels more cohesive," anchoring its sharp wit to a newly unified, tender core. Meanwhile, The Skinny applauded how the record "oozes confidence," with the group seamlessly leaning into their expanded five-piece arrangement without losing their signature cheekiness.
