!!! – Thr!!!er

Throughout their 17 years thus far, !!! have evolved from a tight, snarling punk-funk ensemble into something altogether more louche, studied and hip. What they've lost in youthful exuberance and attitude, they make up for with a nuanced understanding of funk and disco tropes, married to a playful indie rock sensibility, which leaves younger bands with similar influences dead in the water.

When it works, the results are immaculate, as on opener Even When the Water's Cold, with its gently pulsing cumbia guitar and flippant, menacing lyrics ("She was better off at the bottom of a river / Than in a bed with him"). Sometimes, as on Get That Rhythm Right, the results feel overly polished – you'll miss the Joe Strummer sneer in Nic Offer's voice; the horns and picked riffs feel too perfect. In songwriting terms, and with regards to overall structure, it's their strongest album in years, but struggles to recapture their early peaks. [Bram E. Gieben]