SPOKEN of in hushed, revered tones, the Rhode Island group have a fervently loyal fanbase. It is OK for the likes of Bowie to reinvent themselves, but for most it is a high risk strategy.

The Low Anthem’s first record in five years is a concept album. Online, the reaction to this record in some quarters has been vociferous.

The plot is about a group of children whose lives are changed after a fire. That is loosely the gist but shorn of its stage setting, it makes little aural sense. It plays out on record as a set of beautiful ballads. So far, so good, with In The Air Hockey Fire as good as anything on previous albums.

Then comes a rude awakening as these dreamy tunes are unceremoniously uprooted by a group of angry, driven and largely formless instrumentals. Inventive in the extreme, Waved The Neon Seaweed is the only one that comes close to reconciling these extremes.

After the psychological and physical upheaval, peace is restored by the end, but it is an uncomfortable alienating listen.