The Futureheads - The Chaos

(Nul Recordings)

When your average indie band reaches record number four, you can usually expect a slowing down of sorts (blame the sex and drugs) as they bloatedly lose the hunger for hot riffage and instead explore experimental noodling, epic concept albums or even worse, all manner of ill-advised world music/classical/ jazz fusion. Not so The Futureheads, who sound as brimming with boundless energy throughout The Chaos as they ever did. In fact perhaps even more so, as the opening title track gives way to eleven tracks of the breakneck speed, sing-along post punk brilliance that made us fall for the Sunderland foursome in the first place. Top-of-their-game stuff this; just try to keep up.