When rock 'n' roll renaissance man John Robb decided to reform his infamous punk band The Membranes after decades of inactivity, it's fair to say he ruffled a few feathers. However, the sprawling, genre-straddling comeback Dark Matter/Dark Energy silenced the naysayers. Four years on, its sequel again delivers the goods. A deliciously dark double album, heaving with ambition and head-cracking bass riffs, Therapy?'s Andy Cairns has declared it the sonic equivalent of a Hieronymus Bosch painting - and we're in full agreement.

Featuring a 20-piece choir, Theatre Of Hate's Kirk Brandon and punk icon Jordan, this enthralling rock opera about sex, death and nature is a tour de force. The dub, surf and new wave fusion 'Black Is the Colour' is a highlight, as is 'A Strange Perfume' - the latter's blending of a heavenly choir with Robb's hissed vocal is simply inspired.

A fitting soundtrack for our apocalyptic times, this might be the best thing the self-described "post post punk" band have ever put their name to.