The Slow Readers Club - The Joy Of The Return (Modern Sky UK)

Manchester's Slow Readers Club's fourth album The Joy of the Return really does confirm that they are one of the most exciting bands to come out of the city in over a decade.

Recorded at Parr Street Studios in Liverpool and produced by long standing collaborator Phil Bulleyment, The Joy of the Return is summed up in the title of the album - the band sound a lot more joyful and uplifting than they have done in the past.

The album opens with the single All I Hear, a bass driven disco beat underpins a melodic song, they probably would not thank me for it, but the track does sound like Early Duran Duran around Girls On Film without the synth lines you hear on that particular track. In fact there are a lot of early 80's influences I can hear, such as the early tracks from Talk Talk and more recently from groups such as Editors.

Lead singer Aaron Starkie has a distinctive voice that makes the band sound instantly recognisable, especially on tracks such as Something Missing and Problem Child. The Manchester outfit seem to have a knack of writing tracks that stick in your head long after you first hear them, much like tracks from another Manchester act - Inspiral Carpets.

Zero Hour sounds like it should be played at huge arena gigs which in the future it probably will. The Wait closes the album and is sure to become a classic with the fans. As Aaron Starkie sings "Now you're here, you are all that matters" it seems that The Slow Readers Club are definitely here and in a world that at the moment seems to be in turmoil, they definitely do matter.

I rate the album 3 out of 5.