6/10

Despite remaining fairly proactive on the live scene, legendary electronic outfit Fischerspooner had stayed out the studio for nine years until recently. Having built up a cult following, thanks to their progressive and engaging techno releases, the band were less than keen about releasing any new music throughout the last decade. But after so much promise, we finally have their highly-anticipated fourth studio album 'Sir', a record that looks to try and rekindle that former magic.

Produced entirely by R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, this fourth full-length seems less like a comeback record and more like a reinvention of their formative sound. While much of the record looks to call back to their initial years, you can hear that they have been evolving sonically since their last output, showing more range and experimenting with new ideas. The result however fails to truly grab you with anything of great substance and instead tries too hard to appear different than its back catalogue, giving a rather up and down feeling as it plays.

That is not to say that 'Sir' isn't a great load of fun when you hear it, just that it lacks that memorable spark that made them such a popular name in the first place. Trying to be new and clever is great when it works, but not so much this time around.