Since their first release on way back in 1999, and 's has enjoyed a meteoric rise, making the short list for Best Newcomer at the annual British Music Industry awards before underlining the not inconsiderable sales of their inaugural full-length, , with a Mercury nomination shortly afterwards. Notably, they didn't win, but both assisted in building a groundswell of support into a veritable force majeure which resulted in this sophomore follow-up cracking open the U.K. Top Ten on the week of its release. While their aforementioned debut revelled in its low fidelity, the pair chose to draft in -- accomplished producer for such notables as -- for . The resultant album builds considerable muscle to the skeletal frailty of intricate guitar work while commendably maintaining all that was good from their debut. The opening sets the tone for the rest of the album, a sprawling analogue introduction brought into focus through the fret skills of , before ' angelic vocal appears like an apparition from the aural fog. Obvious singles echo the singalong sensibilities of previous hits but there is much, much more here -- having evidently oiled the screechy little -- conjuring up the paranoiac side of as rocks like never quite managed to. Despite these diversions however, it is the softly spoken cuts which make for the highlights with and the closing both stunning examples of a band that still have more to offer ~ Kingsley Marshall