"LADIES and gentlemen it's time, for all the good that's in you to shine." So sings San Franciscan lyricist Mark Eitzel as his angry call to arms - a rumbling bass and an anarchic, discordant piano - launches American Music Club's first record in ten years.

Luckily, this was well worth the wait. Political undertones coursing through Love Songs suggests we may have George W Bush to thank for spurring rock's greatest outsiders into irate action. At times apocalyptic, tracks like the intense Patriot's Heart, Home and Job To Do may be shrouded in a mist of brooding paranoia, but they remain intensely enjoyable.

Another Morning and Only Love Can Set You Free prove AMC can do sparse and sweet as well as prime-time Michael Stipe. A spellbinding return.

Updated: 09:04 Thursday, October 28, 2004