Suuns – Images du Futur

If at first you don't succeed, try again? That seems to be the motto of Montreal's Suuns. 2011's excellent Zeroes QC was criminally overlooked by the wider record-buying populace, but the band clearly liked how it sounded so have pretty much reassembled the template. They get away with it too, thanks to the borderline schizophrenic formula at their disposal; one minute they're hammering away like latter-period Fugazi (Powers of Ten), the next they're noodling with pulsing electronica (2020). And it works, in some cases rather marvellously.

Of the highlights, Minor Work's chiming guitars blend perfectly with Ben Shemie's breathy vocals and twitching beats, recalling Scotland's very own FOUND. Elsewhere, the slashing chords on Mirror Mirror will please the hardcore kids, but the synthy sounds on the same song should tease the IDM crowd. It's a thrill to hear a rock band skewing genre archetypes in this way, and while Images du Futur does contain familiar elements, it's never short of compelling. [Stu Lewis]