What do you do when, after years of toiling in indie obscurity, you suddenly find yourself with a number one single on your hands? Well, if you're Cornershop, you disappear into a sulk about how you never wanted commercial success anyway and aren't heard of again for a full four years. Not the most ambitious band in the world, then, but while their new offering contains nothing as catchy as 'Brimful Of Asha', it's a rich, rewarding album that should do their credibility no harm at all. Their mix of influences is as exotic as ever, with reggae, hard rock and seventies funk all making their presence felt, while Tjinder Singh's lyrics remain as engagingly cryptic as ever. Pick of the bunch is 'Spectral Mornings', a groovy 14-minute psychedelic rumination on Indian politics, with a contribution from Noel Gallagher which proves that he's not completely useless after all. One of the albums of the year? Definitely in the shake-up.
