On their 2008 self-titled debut album, UK three piece Friendly Fires showed themselves as fresh faced cribbers of a sound before their time, willing and able to emulate the sounds of early ‘90s rave-rock that they had become so enamoured by. As the indie buzz-band scene is a flippant one, a return to that mesh of sounds was startlingly on point, with Friendly Fires quickly graduating to mainstage status on the back of their blend of energetic, tropical house influenced production and wiry indie rock.

Three years on and the band are back with Pala, a record that teams them once again with alt-world super producer Paul Epworth (he of albums by The Rapture, Bloc Party and obvious Friendly Fires inspirations Primal Scream ) for helming duties. While the band share a co-production credit on the record, Epworth’s influence on Pala is extensive as even on the tracks which he hasn’t overseen himself it’s clear that Friendly Fires’ have become more ambitious sonic-scapers under his tutelage as the album sounds far richer and more detailed than its predecessor.

From the outset go Friendly Fires shoot for an all-systems-go sound on Pala with each bass throb, synth echo and tumbling drum fill (there are a lot of them!) bursting forth with immaculate production detail. Take the shimmery Show Me Lights which builds on an army of percussionists and into a blissful pop chorus or album opener and lead single Live These Days Tonight with its thumping house beats and smoky electronics. It just sounds a thousand times bigger than Friendly Fires did.

As big an achievement as this widescreen polish may be, Friendly Fires’ biggest achievement on Pala is the experiments the band take as songwriters, with the trio stretching out to dabble with all sorts of new tricks and ideas. The title track, for instance, comes midway through the album and after building a frenetic pace with burner after burner the band halt their own momentum, shifting into the languid, ethereal pop of Pala that gradually dribbles from slow-mo atmospherics into a chorus of colourful euphoria. Blue Cassette also stands out from the bunch with Friendly Fires experimenting with some looping, rewound horn samples and hissing production effects for an instantaneous jam of a tune.

Make no mistake, Friendly Fires haven’t changed their course in the last three years. They’re still all about bridging the divide between festival-approved indie hooks and banging club records but this time around they’re far more assured of what they’re doing and just how to nail their Hacienda 2.0 fantasies. It might’ve been someone else’s sound that they were just toying with before, but now this is Friendly Fires’ sound.

Pala is out now through Remote Control. Friendly Fires will play the Splendour In The Grass festival this July.