Groove Armada have always been accomplished at squeezing surrounding trends into their music while maintaining their own identifiable sound, in the process making their albums act as a partial barometer of London's competing club tendencies.
'Virtigo', for example, featured New York inspired brash house and sleepy Balearic chill out, 'Northern Star' reflected Hoxton funk and French disco, while last year's 'Goodbye Country…echoed with the rude boy sentiments.
The surprising thing about this album is the speed with which they've turned it around, implying that whatever it is they're feeling now, they clearly felt they needed to express it quickly.
As an indication of where their heads are at, their latest set opens with the single 'Purple Haze'.
This turns out to be less of a tribute to the Hendrix classic of the same name than the psychadelic soul of Sly and the Family Stone, made contemporary by Red Rat's vocals and Nappy Roots commanding raps: 'My recipe is Jack Daniels, non-filter camels…one Nike in the grave, one Nike in the rave…"
But this is far from a monolithic set.
Alongside the more hippy leanings on offer here, there's also examples of a more urban based, bass churning groove, that straddles house, hip hop and funk - all made gritty by direct hitting raps, sensual vocals and funk-rock guitar riffs.
It's a theme that re-appears throughout the LP on tracks such as 'Madder', featuring M.A.D, and 'Easy'.
'Groove Is On', featuring Neneh Cherry and Kriminul, and 'Be Careful What You Say' are examples of characteristic funk riffs that, more than their comparatively infrequent chill out tunes, sum-up the Groove Armada sound.
But for those who long for a chill out re-run of 'At The River', 'Remember' is like an emotional carbon copy given the once over by King Tubby.
'Think Twice…' sees Neneh Chery delivering an epic rock ballad, drawn firmly from turn-of-the Seventies traditions. Think Pete Townsend's 'Behind Blue Eyes' meets The Meters 'Turn Me Loose', meets, um, Joni Mitchell.
The game now is to watch where Andy Catto and Tom Findlay go next and who they take with them. But if it comes to leading the charge, the stand-out track here is the basement booty call of 'Final Shakedown', with Red Rat's insistent chant of: "Groove Armada - mash up the place."
Here's hoping they go on to do exactly that.
