Oh:Io is the third album from Norwich-based sextet Bearsuit, and has just been given a US release on Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records following its UK release late last year.

The album gets off to a riotous start with 'Jupiter Force (Recruitment Video)'. On first listen it comes across as disjointed and abrasive, but the horns and synths buried in the melee are more typical of what's to follow than the shouty vocals or stop-start rhythms.

Indeed, second track 'More Soul Than Wigan Casino' is essentially a pop song, albeit one that shoots off at tangents and changes pace throughout. That it was awarded single of the week status by The Guardian on its release last year suggests that Bearsuit can be a band with mainstream appeal if they so choose.

Third track, the interestingly-titled 'Steven Fucking Spielberg', goes further into orchestral pop territory with what sounds like a fully-fledged string section and choir. Also released as a single back in 2006, it's one of the best tracks on the album and yet also one of the most straightforward. It's no coincidence; the band finds most success when following their instinct for melody rather than chaos.

The next two songs represent the album in microcosm – the effects-laden, shouty 'Dinosaur Heart' and the sugary-sweet 'Keep It Together, Somehow'. No prizes for guessing which of the two I preferred.

The pace slows on sixth track, 'Look A Bleached Coral Faced Crow With Jewels For Eyes'. It's a mournful but enjoyable number, with harmonies, horns and finger clicks accompanying Ian Ross's wistful, Graham Coxon-esque vocals.

The most recent single to be taken from the album, 'Foxy Boxer' summons fey indie kids to the dancefloor with the opening line, “Wave your library cards in the air like you just don't care”. The synth stabs and pounding drums take this song in more of an art-rock direction than the rest of the album, but it doesn't sound out of place.

The 'Love Will Never Find You' follows the horns 'n' harmonies template laid out previously, while 'Hark! The Feral Children' and 'Shh Get Out' are reminiscent of the bonkers noise-rock of Melt Banana, but more twee.

The penultimate song, 'Mission Io Must Not Fail', is essentially the album's climax. With its space travel lyrics, bleeping keyboards and celestial choir, it brings together several of the themes touched upon earlier in the album, both sonically and in terms of subject matter. Think 'Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots' and you won't be far off.

To continue the space theme, minute-long final track 'Stay Alive' sees the band returning to earth, the piano and reverb sounding like a condensed version of Blur's 'Sing'.

If you prefer your indie-pop to be of a more raucous bent, Oh:Io should be right up your street. For fans of more conventional C-86-inspired stuff, this album won't leave you cold but it's unlikely to blow you away either.

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