Returning from a three-year hiatus, The Bluetones sound utterly reinvigorated. Spry and buoyant, the band’s fifth studio album, which was produced by Hugh Jones (Echo & The Bunnymen, The Charlatans) is a veritable Britpop clinic. The achingly sunny opener “Surrendered,” serves notice that while their mid-nineties contemporaries have vanished (Elastica), mutated (Blur=The Gorillaz=The Good The Bad And The Queen), or noticeably weakened (Oasis), The Bluetones very well may be at the top of their game. It doesn’t hurt that singer Mark Morriss has one of the most listenable voices in music and he commandeers numbers like the punchy “Head On A Spike” or the lilting “Fade In/ Fade Out” with expertly smooth chops. But he can rip it up, too-- witness the fiery stomp of “My Neighbour’s House,” whose careening pop crunch makes it an early nominee for being the best song of the year. Elsewhere, “The King Of Outer Space” comes with an appealing, albeit idiosyncratic bounce; “Thank-You, Not Today” is a dreamy shuffle and the closer “Wasn’t I Right About You?” is a jangling number that comes teeming with a teasing trumpet fill and a strolling xylophone bit that brings things to a swerving, but satisfying close.
~ Alex Green
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