Land Lovers team-up with Windings two years ago yielded a hugely enjoyable, self-titled split album. Still, for many, the union was always going to be seen as something of a taster for the main course (ie. a third full-length record from the quintet). Now, nearly five years on from the release of their critically acclaimed Confidants, they unveil The Rooks Have Returned – and it’s a stylish and cerebral slice of jangle pop that cements their status among the finest songwriters in the land.
In album openers ‘Springtime For The Mystics’ and ‘Angeline’ the Dubliners have delivered a brace of bittersweet anthems which rank as their finest tracks to date. The former is a heart-swelling, E Street band-esque triumph; the latter a stellar guitar offering, full of snare snaps and sock hop hooks. Though the record is slightly frontloaded (the LP never again quite reaches the dizzy heights of those first two numbers), the new wave and punkish blast of ‘Modern Pentathalon’ ends the album in bullish form and is the kind of song The Undertones would have sold their snorkel coats for.

Rating 7/10