THE THE

Ensoulment (Cineola)

After a 24-year hiatus, English postpunk ensemble The The are back. Ensoulment is a well-coordinated collection of songs that slip from one to another, almost like a concept album: founding member and band stalwart Matt Johnson gives the impression that he’s narrating a story and it’s easy to float along on just the sound of his deep, rich voice. Titles are inventive and lyrics intelligent, with themes of sickness, despair and fear, and several mentions of poison.

The music does tend to play a secondary role to the vocals but occasionally there are moments that resonate such as the opening to Where Do We Go When We Die. Penultimate track I Hope You Remember (The Things I Can’t Forget) has the feel of a coda. Ensoulment is an album that feels particularly relevant to our post-COVID world – and, of course, there’s a lengthy pre-COVID The The catalogue to catch up on.

words LYNDA NASH