THESE NEW PURITANS

Art pop siblings return in electro splendour.

Celebrated as much for their resolute square peg status as for their frequently extraordinary music, These New Puritans have craftily defined themselves as undefinable. Even with that in mind, Inside The Rose is a remarkable piece of work. Eschewing the dreamy reveries of 2013’s Field of Reeds in favour of a darker, denser and more pointedly contemporary sound, the duo’s new songs exist in a box-fresh sonic universe, full of throbbing electronics, sweeping strings, twinkling keys and a slow-motion maelstrom of tenderness. Gorgeous moments are numerous, but opener Infinity Vibraphones is an immersive, undulating sprawl of melodic sweetness and textural drift; Where

The Trees Are on Fire is a luscious orchestral soliloquy with a heartrending vocal from Jack Barnett; Anti-Gravity is surging chamber pop with shades of orbital’s pulsing prog-tronica. And while the prevailing mood is one of sober disquiet, there is an endearing, spiky energy propelling the clattering Into The Fire along. In fact, for all its beauty and elegance, Inside The Rose is quietly audacious, the potency of the Barnett brothers’ artistic adventures sitting front and centre. one of the uk’s most fascinating bands strikes again.