Kyle Falconer on a Sunny Thursday

The first time I heard Hats Off to the Buskers—The View’s debut—it was one of those drunk late nights with the wrong people where Same Jeans and Wasted Little DJs got played into the ground. I became a fan immediately, the way you become a fan at 2 AM when a song fits the room exactly.

So when Which Bitch? came out I grabbed it and hated it. Too familiar, too slight—a lesser version of something I already loved. I put it very far away.

Then Berlin gave me a sunny Thursday in February—actual warmth, the kind that makes you feel like the city owes you something—and I was walking to the U-Bahn when Kyle Falconer’s voice slid into my ear, that dirty Scottish accent singing something about a sunny day. Something clicked. I kept listening all the way to the platform. By the end of the commute I’d completely reversed my verdict. Which Bitch? isn’t a lazy rehash—it’s fuller, sharper, with better lyrics and that same grimy, lived-in sound that makes you feel like you’re in a slightly run-down pub after a good day, nursing a shandy and not especially wanting to go home. Give Back the Sun and Unexpected especially. Those two alone were worth the second listen.