Mew – + -

Danish alt-rock dreamboats Mew are return with an ode to the album format; a labour of love that navigates its emotional peaks and troughs with the precision of a captain’s eye for the stars. Jonas Bjerre and co. reunite with ex-bassist Johan Wohlert, and sounding nothing short of thrilled about it: a balancing act of candied vocals and crunchy, full-bodied percussion, + - is a softer record than many in their 18 year-spanning catalogue, but by no means is it less urgent.

Lead single Witness is a journey on the grandest of scales, hugely satisfying in its anthemic strides, but with the lightest of touches given to elegant, intricate detailing. Making Friends is balladeering at its best, mapped out by horizon-spanning guitar work. Mid album, Bloc Party guitarist Russell Lissack joins the adventure, adding his trademark angularities to My Complications. Mew haven’t lost their claws, rather gilded them with fresh, glittering accuracy. [Katie Hawthorne]