Bleep

Armed with a keyboard loaded to the brim with wonderfully catchy melodies and more sing-along choruses than a karaoke machine on a Friday night, John Maus returns with his first new long player in six years - Screen Memories. A joyful return that further investigates the quasi-synth-pop and electrocuted soul that has made him a legend in our and many others' eyes and ears.

A favourite around these parts since we included his incredible We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves album in our top 10 Albums Of The Year 2011, Screen Memories drapes us in a freshly woven and ever so luxurious star-spangled cloak of pure dose psychedelic pop. Having spent the intervening years since We Must... earning his doctorate in political philosophy, Screen Memories picks up exactly where that records last track Believer dropped us off in the previous decade. The basslines thud along, the synths sparkle and new and most interestingly of all, the guitars screech out fat chunks of fuzz with a truly visual trail that stays floating behind each note in the solid air. While the style hasn't changed much over the years, when it's this sugary sweet who really cares?

For us, Screen Memories is one of the year's best releases from one of the truly greatest artists of our time.