This is the sound of modern Northern soul. In recent years, the McNamara brothers are the best thing to have come out of Huddersfield, writing audaciously large tunes laced with fiery guitar.
 
On their 1998 debut album,The Good Will Out,their ambition was bigger than their ability, with some quite simple songs drowned by excessive orchestration. This follow-up is just as explosive, but there is a greater degree of control, and a sense of irony. "Hooligan", for instance, has a Beck-ish touch of mischief, with its grainy loops, jaunty kazoo and bluesy, shuffling rhythm, while "You're Not Alone" weaves upbeat Northern brass into its anthemic chorus.
 
Frontman Danny also delivers a few killer ballads, including the title track, where to an intimate piano melody he regretfully sings: "I turn evil in your hands." He's always been an unsentimental wordsmith, and thank heaven for that. --Lucy O'Brien