Three years after their first release, Tracky Dax are back with an arresting album that attempts to defy the “growing list of sub-genre wankery” with the pursuit of a fresh and interesting sound. Album notes say that Tracky Dax with their album hope to restore listeners’ faith in the music industry and in humanity, which seems quite probable.

The first track, Watch the One, is a darkly distorted adventure, which quickly and surprisingly segues into a track two’s soft, soulful ditty set to restrained music, with welcome lyrics exploring the greater wankery of war-speak we are currently being subjected to. Songwriters Tam and Ivan Jordan and ex-compadre Alan Goodman certainly seem influenced by the world at large, which is refreshing to hear in the middle of the usual mess of bling-bling bitch pop. A bit of choral adventure in Troubled Lives is reminiscent of great soul tunes from the like of NuYorican Soul, which is swiftly followed by the funky, laid back Lewinsky (with a big cigar) which sounds like classic Prince blended with lounging drum and bass.

Happiness is a great, great tune, and I look forward to the opportunity to one day hear it live. Mashing up the best of disco with elemental hip hop and samples, and giving the big fat finger to world arch nemesis number one, George Bush, this won me over in seconds. But the genre bashing and squashing doesn’t stop there; Back from Blue heads off into smooch-sleaze territory while Love Ya is all messy electro slash house slash old school … oh whatever.

Let’s call this a varietal album. The faster Miniscule is brought up short by (trying not to revert to sub-genre wankery) Moonshine, which sounds to me like the soundtrack for a stoner smoking a big fat blunt while dangling his legs over the River Seine with a glass of Absinthe by his side. World Wide Web is a creepy tune like a pissed and rolling version of something from Lamb, perhaps designed for those who occupy the headspace of the late night surfer? Frame is another pleasantly bass-driven affair, while The Trip is a last foray into bleeping, wobbly uncertainty.

Will it change the world? Dunno, but it’s nice to hear an act trying to keep their finger on the pulse of world politics. Is it worth a listen? Most definitely, yes.