Shed Seven, Instant Pleasures (BMG) *****

FINALLY! Some 16 years since their previous studio album, and a decade since they got back together to tour old classics to raucous sell-out venues, York’s finest have at last released a new LP.

It’s come with a fanfare, too, with the band appearing on various TV and radio and all over that new-fangled internet thing which barely existed the last time they promoted new material.

But is it worth the wait? If anything, this 12-track collection proves only that it’s been far too long. It is a belter – probably their best-ever work.

The album is unmistakably Sheds but with a new feel and a new vibrancy. For example, there are lovely vocal harmonies here and there which never used to be part of their sound, and the double guitar attack of Paul Banks and Joe Johnson provides a new depth of power.

The work of legendary producer Youth has brought different dimensions too, with even the band themselves surprised at how good the finished tracks sound.

It opens with the first single off the LP, the thunderous Room In My House. It’s a bit Kasabian with a blast of John Squire-esque guitar solo thrown in by Banks, but it’s a hell of a way to announce your return.

The confidence it displays is not misplaced.

The next two tracks have also been released as early singles – the effortless rock and roll of Nothing To Live Down, and the mighty ballad It’s Not Easy, which, with those familiar horns, rivals ageless chart hits Chasing Rainbows and Going For Gold and shows Rick Witter’s distinctive voice to be stronger than ever.

All three will surely be part of the set on the forthcoming tour – instantly memorable melodies, riffs and vocals, and wonderful to belt out at the top of your voice. The occasional cliché lyric is easy to forgive.

In fact, they’re instantly pleasurable, like the album title boldly predicts.

Additionally, whereas previous releases have comprised obvious strong singles with a few fillers, this album has strength and depth throughout, mixing immediately catchy songs with growers.

Said I’m Sorry is a point in question. It starts off in the land of disco funk then transposes into indie pop, and has an unexpected tempo change thrown in too. It’s a brave track.

Victoria is an uplifting guitar-laden quasi-love song before the pace changes with Better Days, an assertively likeable slow number. Conversely, Enemies & Friends (is it meant to sound like “Enemas”?) is a singalong track for an open road.

Those guitars are to the fore in Star Crossed Lovers, before Hang On To Yourself slows things down again with Alan Leach’s drums and Tom Gladwin’s bass providing the platform for melodies, strings, gospel backing vocals and – just when it appears over – a tremendously upbeat finale.

Butterfly On A Wheel is pure cool rock which will lift spirits for many a year, and People Will Talk just bursts with the energy of a band who know they have something special here.

The closing Invincible contains the lyrics “even if we crash and burn in the end”.

There’s no crashing or burning here. Instant Pleasures will be a hit - even if this ever-underrated indie group’s withered old knockers from the Nineties do their tiresome worst again.

Will more new stuff follow? If it does, hopefully it won’t take until 2033 to arrive.