Metronomy - Metronomy Forever

First things first, it’s called ‘Metronomy Forever’. It’s not a greatest hits compilation. But with the number of stone cold belters packed into this, the sixth album from one of the most innovative surviving groups of the noughties indie era, you’d be forgiven for thinking it were one.

Clocking in at a hefty 55 minutes over 17 tracks, it’s the most ambitious project from the group so far, but the interludes that slot between the longer tracks don’t feel forced or intimidating - far from it. In fact, stacking up a variety of audacious pop songs almost laughable in their optimism (take the incessantly sparky ‘Salted Caramel Ice Cream’) with broodier instrumental snippets gifts breathing room to what could have otherwise been a messy, overegged affair.

Despite the range of funk-heavy dance tracks makes up its skeleton, the album feels patient and nostalgic. For each strobe-lit high there’s a comedown that follows the morning after. ‘Forever Is A Long Time’ convulses like a primordial Daft Punk, ‘Miracle Rooftop’ is the perfect 3am low-key burner, cooler and more in line with Four Tet or Bicep than Metronomy’s back catalogue. ‘Ur Mixtape’ is both rich with character and naïve-sounding, like a teenage MySpace demo dredged from the depths of Joe Mount’s brain.

Got bangers? You betcha. Look no further than ‘The Light’’s beefy rumble or the scratchy indie-pop ‘Wedding Bells’ for a degree of dance-ability that delivers perfectly on what the saucier parts of ‘Summer 08’ promised.

Unexpected, indulgent, and an absolute joy, ‘Metronomy Forever’ is a prophecy to get behind.