Although the download-only "She's Gone" proved JJ72 were still alive and kicking and in re-energised good nick to boot, "Coming Home" - the first single proper to be taken from their long-awaited third album - is a cut above and suggests Mark Greaney and Fergal Matthews were right all along to take time out following the departure of original bassist Hillary Woods 18 months back.
Indeed, at a time when more than six months absence from the NME'S pages seems dangerous for indie bands desperate for instant gratification, only the terminally confident and/ or those bands out there who actually care for their fans would dare to take a step back and get it right before returning to the fray (slightly) older and wiser.
In JJ72'S case, it seems that stopping, regrouping (with impressive new bassist Sarah Fox in tow) and concentrating on returning with a clutch of convincing new anthems was the right decision after all. Yes, the fiery, slowburning and quintessentially JJ72 sound of "Coming Home" DOES sound out of step in a landscape currently dominated by the likes The Futureheads and Maximo Park, but then -in the long run - who really gives a flying one?!! "Coming Home" - mixed with confidence by Queens Of The Stone Age acolyte Joe Barresi - features some pleasingly ominous black humour from Mark Greaney ("I will dig a grave for you, oh let's make that a grave for two") and makes like a band working with a renewed vigour. It's even possible to refer to it as a very good 'pop' song without a hint of irony.
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So there you a go. A pleasantly muscular surprise, and according to the man himself, they have plenty more of this calibre in reserve. Maybe that third album won't be so difficult after all.
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