The Boxer Rebellion try to be as immediate as can be, but are the kind of band who go about it in the most leisurely way possible. It may sound like I’m contradicting myself, but their first two records were quite easy to get into while still seeming to be slow-burners.

I gradually fell under the spell of ‘Exits’, a record chock-full of nervous anxiety and brittle tension, when I first listened to it in ‘07, but it was clear that the band were intent on evolving, as cuts from what would eventually become their second album showed.

The eventual release of ‘Union’ (after a nigh-on four-year wait) confirmed my suspicions: the band had indeed on towards a more widescreen sound, whilst still retaining all the things that had made them great in the first place. Blandness is not something they will ever settle for, as so many others have.

On initial listens of ‘The Cold Still’ (this time there’s only a two-and-a-bit year wait, which is entirely more tolerable), little about the band’s approach to making music seems to have changed: things still take a while to unravel. However, the cut-glass riffs that characterised the debut have been swapped out for more expansive tapestries of sound, such as those found on swirling opener ‘No Harm’ and ‘Cause For Alarm’.

The band are clearly focusing on their anthemic side; there are very few heavy moments here, so in that respect, ‘Step Out of the Car’ seems out of place. Or so it would be thought, if it wasn’t for the way it flows into ‘Locked In The Basement’. This is a carefully-crafted record, well-structured and full to the brim with melody and atmosphere, and even though it’s early days yet, ‘Doubt’ has shot up there with their best songs. There is more to find in ‘The Cold Still’ - with a band like this there always is - but even though I’ve only scratched the surface, I can see that their claim that it is ‘their best record yet’ has every possibility of being proved right. [GO’M]