Barbara Barbara, we face a shining future

Having invited a herd of co-producers onto 2010’s Barking, Karl Hyde and Rick Smith return to working alone, aiming to capture “the freshness of the moment” without overcooking things by exploring every single idea. That spontaneity is superbly vindicated by “I Exhale”’s spare, techno-glam thump, and the rising acid groove of “If Rah”. There’s still plenty of genre-merging adventure though, and soaring closer “Nylon Strung” fuses a lovesick, soul melody with end-of-the-night euphoria and the piercing melancholy of Hyde’s cut-and-paste lyrics.