Metronomy’s last album, 2016’s Summer 08, saw frontman Joe Mount on a nostalgic trip back to the release of Nights Out, the record that cemented their position at the forefront of a wave of squelchy, esoteric alt-pop.

Over a decade later, the band’s latest effort (effort being the operative word – Metronomy Forever weighs in at a hefty 17 tracks), has Mount making music to appreciate the now; basking in a period of idyll brought on by his relocation from the bustle of Paris to a hilltop in Kent. Rather than producing a more compact record that packs hit against hit, Metronomy Forever allows for breathing and room to experiment.

Tracks like Whitsand Bay and Wedding Bells are “classic” Metronomy in their slick, funky basslines, snappy percussion and bright synth-pop melodies. Then there’s the sapid flirtation in tongue-in-cheek cut Sex Emoji and the upbeat pop sensibility of Salted Caramel Ice Cream, peppered with such gratifying lyricism as “She’s sparkling/ Like a fresh glass of Perrier.”

Lying Low and Miracle Rooftop deliver a fuzzy, lo-fi take on house and jazzy funk respectively, and closer Ur Mixtape, much like Summer 08’s final track Summer Jam, is bittersweet and introspective. “After the drum‘n’bass night/ I never heard from her again” Mount sings like a teen bereft. Moody ambient interludes (Driving, Forever is a Long Time, Insecure) punctuate a record that Mount wants you to experience like the radio – a non-stop confluence of sounds and styles, your mood brightening, and then dimming, as the presenter sees fit.

Katie Thomas