Two years ago, when its full-length debut Ignoto appeared, even Yourcodenameis:milo's apologists wondered quite where the Newcastle quintet might fit into the zeitgeist. Clearly, it was a question that weighed heavily upon corporate shoulders at their label Fiction/Polydor: Within a year of the record's release, YCNI:M was a free agent. It must have been tempting, at times, to gaze on at the fortunes of fellow North-East UK bands such as Maximo Park and Field Music, and forsake the kinetic clatter by upping the art-rock ante.

But YCNI:M is nothing if not bloody-minded. And with good reason, it turns out. They Came from the Sun is the sound of a band snowballing in confidence. Typical of the form is "Take to the Floor," beginning with Paul Mullen's opening salvo of “We're coming in! We're coming in! Can you hear us?” which hurtles towards a glorious minute-long implosion. Here, as on so many of the songs, stray dissonant power chords somehow conspire to accentuate just how much the band has refined its melodic punch. These are not huge differences from before, but they're enough to ensure repeat listens — in particular on the plaintive minor-chord haemorrhaging of "Screaming Ground" and "To the… read more »