WITH heads fixed firmly in the stars, British Sea Power return with their third album, a monumental piece of soaring space rock.

Combining the best of English eccentricity, swirling post rock and good old-fashioned stomp, Do You Like Rock Music is a joy.

The opening crackles and squeaks of All In It give way to an elegiac intonation of a chorus, while Lights Out For Darker Skies flits between ambient romp and aching beauty.

From Mercury Rev on No Lucifer, to Doves on Canvey Island and even Ride on Down On The Ground, BSP run the gamut of brilliance. But enough of that.

Guitarist Noble describes it best: "Our first album was a bit wild and not to be listened to while riding a bike.

The second you could play all the way through without falling off. This one is more of a car or tank - a wind-powered car or tank, but still faster than almost all the other cars or tanks."

The best album of the year thus far - and it'll take some beating.