O MY – the last three letters of the band’s name and wow, o my, this is a humdinger of a release.It is a groove of delights from first play to last of the ten songs birthed by founder and propulsive force Joseph Mount and it will take something extra special to supersede this as one of the records of 2014.

While echoing a host of some of the best influences – at times the tracks evoke Kraftwerk, Human League, The Cure, Prince and Siouxsie and the Banshees, the resonances and nuances are ear-twistingly original. You think opener “The Upsetter” is intriguing and powerful enough, then the next five songs come lolloping along like a predatory panther. “Monstrous” and the later “The Most Immaculate Haircut” are cut from the Human League’s Being Boiled, while the title track opens with a haunting horn refrain before exploding into a Motown mantra accompanied by fat Abba piano.

Matching Mount’s invention is an epic series of bass runs from Gbenga Adelegan, whose lines coil like a serpent in a labyrinth.

O my.