One of the best opening songs I’ve heard in a long time, “MTT 420 RR”, (literally the vocalist’s own historic car crash), sets the stage for a remarkable journey.

It’s heavy, but not necessarily in a musical sense. Joe Talbot’s big booming, smooth-as-silk croon combined with minimal, creeping instrumentation comes to a booming crescendo.

Iggy meets Jim James perhaps?

Don’t believe the average reviews by Allmusic and Pitchfork, let your ears do the listening. On double 45rpm vinyl it’s a huge sound.

Just out of interest, I compared the vinyl with a 24 bit lossless digital file. The vinyl absolutely eats it for breakfast.

• Metacritic.com - Review