Being a little scared isn’t always a bad thing – it gets the adrenaline flowing, the heart racing and prepares the body to act fast. Good punk rock has always done the same for me and countless others. This is true in all its forms – Against Me! In their quieter moments can light a fire just the same as Sick of it All can at full volume. Peterborough’s A Great Notion are positioned squarely at the quieter end of this spectrum; there’s as much chance of a blastbeat as there is of Cliff Richard presenting Children in Need.

The four tracks on the EP are all well-crafted, folky indie punk flavoured gems. They range from the tender, understated ‘5th February’ to the more raucous, sing-a-long-ready ‘This Isn’t Kansas’, with the rest of the tracks effectively covering the ground in between. I will forever hope that ‘Peggle Forever’ is a paean to the puzzle game of the same name; choosing to ignore the actual – heartfelt and meaningful – lyrical content.

So – A Little Scared doesn’t break new ground, but I doubt that A Great Notion were setting out to write another The Shape of Punk to Come anyway. Instead, this is a confident, honest set of tunes which wouldn’t be out of place in anyone’s collection, and therefore comes highly recommended.

Oh yeah. There’s a soundbite from the movie Pieces. There’s really no more you could want to help soundtrack a passionate, drunken sing-a-long to be honest.

– Matt Barnwell