There’s taking a break and then there’s taking a break. The odd bout of touring and a one off single in the mid ’90s aside, it’s been seventeen years since the Go-Go’s stepped foot into a recording studio to make an album.

All the more astonishing then that, from the moment Belinda Carlisle coos “here we are again in La-La land” on the opening track, this should be one of the freshest, most vibrant and thrilling albums of 2001.

Time has not dampened their sunny Californian enthusiasm for their craft as they bounce through the likes of ‘Stuck In My Car’, ‘Sonic Superslide’ and ‘Unforgiven’ (a co-write with musical baby brother Billie Joe from Green Day), none of which would sound out of place next to the Blink 182’s and Sum 41’s of this world. Scrape beneath the surface however, and you’ll find an album of huge musical maturity and style. Every track is enveloped in gorgeously arranged ’60s girl group harmony vocals, forming a nice contrast with Jane Wiedlin and Charlotte Caffey’s chugging guitars. Album closer ‘Daisy Chain’ is a surprisingly frank autobiography of the band’s highs and lows that ends with the admission that they “never really said goodbye”.

On this form, let’s hope that they decide to postpone that final farewell for a while yet.