Co-produced by Liran Donin of punk-jazz fellow-travellers Led Bib, WorldService Project's fourth album is concerned with psychology and politics as much as skronked-out aggression. A harsh, attacking edge is intrinsic to their sound, from Tim Ower's bruising sax to Dave Morecroft's fiercely guitar-like keys. Call it Stockholm syndrome, but as the album progresses more positive emotions emerge, as with the raucous blow-out of ‘To Lose the Loved’, which may also be a redemptive elegy. ‘Ease’ switches between sinuously liberated sax and staccato, blocked brass, in a multi-section structure more prog than punk. Morecroft's instinct for fringe theatrical protest animates the most striking moments. ‘The Tale of Mr. Giggles’ is an origin story for a popular clown character who punctuates WorldService gigs.

Downhill brass tumbles introduce a disturbed, widescreen mindscape, navigated by Morecroft's vocal sympathy for the outcast, fear at his acts, and gibbering transformations into this Punch for a socially battered Britain. ‘Now This Means War’ multilingually repeats the threat on too many lips, declaring through a mic's Blitz-era distortions that: “Without the fear, they have nothing”.

‘False Prophets’ is the band and producer's best work. Brushwork and a faint brass pulse build from a whisper to a more audible hush as if paying funeral respects, till WorldService Project fill the stereo spectrum. Emotional and aural dynamics justify their assaultive approach.