COMING to Mogwai without prior knowledge, it’s easy to be swept away by the moody instrumental music on their eighth studio album.

Starting with Heard About You Last Night, the Scotsmen set out their stall as a kind of Celtic Pink Floyd – all dark guitar, feedback, electronic and slow bass riffs building to something more than the sum of their pieces.

Next up, Simon Ferocious begins almost with a 1970s television ident and then turns faster and more upbeat, layering on guitars until giving way to the more stripped-back Remurdered, which wouldn’t feel out of place in a high-end spy drama.

There’s something charmingly retro about the album, with its prog-rock influences, but when midpoint track Repelish begins with spoken word, it jars so heavily with the rest of the instrumental material it refreshes the listening experience, as does Master Card, which sounds like a Foo Fighters jam session.

In all, a good record to perk interest in the band’s other work, and a great album in itself.