Everything Else Has Gone Wrong

Don’t worry, BBC fans, the title here should definitely be considered as a reference to everything other than this album. Sweeping as that is, the outfit have spent six years considering their future, going on “indefinite hiatus” following 2014’s astonishing “So Long, See You Tomorrow”, and offering excellent solo bits, only to return with work that’s both fresh and reassuringly familiar. By now you’re probably familiar with “Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You)”, which forsakes the soft-edges of that preceding, sample-heavy record in favour of something more in keeping with earlier, more “live sounding” fare. There’s plenty more here along those lines, not least “I Can Hardly Speak” and the title number itself. Efforts like “Let You Go” rely on glitchy electronics for impact, instrumentation that sounds cast in vivid moonlight abounds on “People People”, while “Get Up” is a sultry, sax-filled anthem. This is indeed how you stage a comeback. – Juno