Possibly Let me Come Home doesn’t strike one as the most forceful of LP titles: it’s plaintive, almost needling, perhaps. But the pulse of those 4 monosyllables is juxtaposed with the title of first track “A Leaving Song”, which take a more assertive, strident tone and whose rolling, muscular thunder relays the fact that Broken Records are here, and they mean business on their terms. Yes, this is a record that considers some of the more fragile aspects of relationships: but if it seems like there’s a lot of looking backwards on this record (Let Me Come Home; “We Used to Dream”; “Home”), that’s certainly not the case. Having enlisted Tony Doogan (Mogwai, The Delgados) as producer, this is a group making a manifest step forward from an already pretty high starting point.

“Rolling” and “thunder” are words which can be applied to much of this record, many of the tracks on which are fast paced and layered with an almost demented (but never out of control) variety of instrumentation. “Modern Worksong” has a whirling, industrial-machinelike combination of drums and violins that unfolds organically as the song progresses. “You Know You’re Not Dead” makes it’s point emphatically with one of the most alive, incredibly paced pieces of music on the record. Even the funereal “Dia dos Namarados!” (whose jaunty exclamation mark belies its sombre nature) has a weight supporting the fine duet between frontman Jamie Sutherland and guest Jill O’Sullivan (of Sparrow and the Workshop).

There’s an emotional core to the record which is laid out on top of and underscored by the songs’ arrangements: first single “A Darkness Rises Up” seems to quiver with nerves, while “Ailene” opens with a spike of feedback before launching into a regulated, tightly complex piece which seems to reflect the album’s wider concern with relationships and emotional security; by the end of the song a repeated reference to “you and me” has become a more plaintive “you and me… oh and me… oh and me… oh and me”.

Broken Records haven’t rolled back from their grandiose tendencies on this LP, either in terms of the instrumentation or Sutherland’s vocals; and nor should they. But perhaps the hand of producer Doogan has helped the group find moments where restraint outweighs bombast. “The Motorcycle Boy Reigns” has a kind of shimmering, sparse opening that is carried over into the verses of the song, while the chorus develops and swells out; similarly, “The Cracks in the Wall” has subtler moments before leading into the quiet reflection of the final track and ultimate destination of “Home”. This final track is where we find the plaintive request to “Let me come home”, a rejoinder and bookend to the confident assertion of “A Leaving Song”.

In many ways, the changes on Let Me Come Home are a question of refinement as well as development, while the core of Broken Records’ strength remains in the unique power of Sutherland’s voice and the inventive performances all around. I suppose one could say, if the Record ain’t Broken, don’t fix it (groan).

Let Me Come Home is out in the UK on Monday 25th on 4AD. The US release will be on January 19th.