Ask most people on the street what they think of when they think of New Zealand music, and they'll probably mumble something about Split Enz or Crowded House, and then angrily ask you why you're asking that anyway and possibly try to punch you in the face. It's true, even if I didn't try it! But there's another side to the New Zealand music scene that has very little to do with the literate art-pop of the Finn brothers; it's the country's proliferation of excellent garage bands.

Die! Die! Die! are one of these bands, and they appear to be coming up to the top of the pile, courtesy of a hectic touring schedule and the fact that they're now signed to faceless multinational Universal Music in their home country. A quick listen to album number two, entitled "Promises Promises" confirms that they're definitely a cut above the rest, but they fail to deliver the knockout blow that would propel them directly to the top of the garage-rock ladder.

It's clear from the production of this album that it's been done with a higher budget and a bit more polish than their previous album, despite the absence of Steve Albini behind the production board this time. A lot of the venom is also absent, and while the music is still extremely aggressive both in the lyrical content and in the way the music is played, its been pulled back enough to allow other elements to come naturally into the music. A couple of good examples of this are Britomart Sunset, which sounds like a punkier Sonic Youth track, or Whitehorses, an impressive song that sounds like Sparta in one of their more restrained moments.

Fans of the band's older sound are likely to be disappointed by the changes on this album, but there is still plenty of ferociously aggressive material. Opening track Blinding features a grinding, sawing riff that enhances the main lyrical refrain of "I could never forget her if I tried", something that comes across very effectively in the context of the song. Vocalist Andrew Wilson's singing does get a bit tiresome towards the end however, mainly because he barely moves down from a shout for the whole album. If the band continue along with this course of diversifying their song writing, and I hope they do, Wilson might be advised to try and develop his singing beyond the thin, flat, post-hardcore tone that he uses all of the time.

Despite this, "Promises Promises" is still a decent album, although one that I suspect won't have as wide an audience as that enjoyed by their Crowded House countrymen. The narrow appeal aside, this is an album that shows considerable growth for what was once a one-trick band, and I'll be eagerly watching them to see what their next output is like.