Not ones to rush into things, this Glasgow-based indie combo started work on this, their third long-player, back in 2000.
Harking back to the jangly pop of the C86 scene, the quartet are supremely skilled in making jangly, catchy pop.
There’s a danger of peaking too early with opener ‘O. Pioneers’, drawing as it does from a contribution from former Fire Engines mainman Davy Henderson, its strident hook lodging itself in the subconscious immediately.
However, ‘X’ soon puts such thoughts to bed, a fuzzy frenzy of distortion failing to mask a masterpiece of a chorus.
It’s not just about rock’n’roll, however, ‘Winter Tears’ just one of a clutch of swooning semi-acoustic offerings – each one every bit as good as the Edwyn Collins cover that rounds off this very welcome return.
(This review originally appeared in the Kirkintilloch Herald)