Highly Suspect just percolate an air of cool. They’re a band I’ve missed seeing twice, despite having tickets, and so whenever they release new material, my way of making sure I get my fix is by devouring their tunes.

There’s been a lot of pre-album attention, in the form of a batch of stellar singles, which bodes well, as Terrible Johnny and co have been away for essentially two years. That’s when they dropped ‘The Midnight Demon Club’, a spookier, more spellbinding offering than this. ‘As Above, So Below’, the just-landed record, is a corker, though. It’s more classic Americana rock in the main, but with their twisting, contorting alt/metal niche thrown in, it’s class.

Kicking off proceedings is the long ‘Summertime Voodoo’, one of a handful of songs here that surpass the five-minute mark. Along with the playful, seductive and oh-so-catchy ‘The Blue-Eyed Devil’ and the contrastingly sombre ‘The 8th of October (To August 17th)’, it was among the campaign-starting tracks before the full release.

As I’m compiling this review, I’m having a good old cardio workout, so you can bet the face-melting solos of ‘Suicide Machine’ and lively rock ‘n’ roll vibes of ‘Mexico’ are hitting all the right playlist requirements. The latter’s an upbeat belter, underpinned by their trademark scuzzy riffs. Just what us hardcore fans come back to. There’s also serious pace to the very fun ‘The Reset’. This piece is a bit different, though, as it’s without lyrics, so it has this soundtrack-style nature. And then, chronologically, things cleverly bounce into the immediately vocal-led ‘Run For Your Death (More Pills)’. A screaming, all-energy angst once again tips the scales from alt rock into borderline metal — how very Highly Suspect of them.

I’m dipping in and out of the ordering, but it makes sense to, as the outfit have peppered the faster bops with gentler numbers. The picked-string opening on ‘Plastic Boxes’ showcases Terrible Johnny’s distinguishable vocals in a rawer fashion, yet slower still is ‘Melatonia’; sort of like a stripped-back Pearl Jam, which incorporates full instruments at 4:33. There’s certainly a dynamism in how the tempo ebbs and flows throughout ‘As Above, So Below’.

Into reflective, riffy rock? I recommend you skip to ‘Champagne At Our Funeral’. But the really anthemic stuff smacks during the ballad-esque finale, ‘Then Mickey 2’. Another demonstration that this fiery lot can dial it up to 11 then pare the punchy rock back, too.

If you only download one track, let it be: ‘The Reset’