'A' recorded their fourth album in Seattle with Soundgarden producer Terry Date, so have their gone grunge on us? Thankfully not, though opening track The Rush Song does at times sound like it could come from Date's work with the likes of Pantera and Deftones, with its crunching guitars. Before you ask, no, they haven't gone nu-metal either...

However, it is a sign of 'A's new-found status after the success of Nothing and Starbucks a few years ago that they are the first UK band to be produced by the legendary Date.

While neither The Rush Song or second single Better Off With Him were chart hits to match Nothing, Teen Dance Ordinance is packed full of the kind of perky pop-punk we have come to expect from Jason Perry et al since they emerged on the scene in 1997 with the bizarrely-named How Ace Are Buildings?

The record label describe The Rush Song as "like a Perry Farrell fronted Cave In covering the veteran Canadian progsters whom the title alludes to", which sums it up better than we ever could. That Perry Farrell comparison has been with 'A' since the start, though maybe familiarity is creeping in as it does seem less prominent on Teen Dance Ordinance.

Better Off With Him is pure 'A', with a fun singalong chorus that doesn't take itself too seriously, but there are some signs here that they are trying to move away from that image as UK rock's best party band. The Art Of Making Sense finds them in full-on power chord crunching mode, though maybe it's not that surprising as they did sing about liking Iron Maiden and Van Halen on Cheeky Monkey from HAAB...

However, that has never really crept into their music quite so prominently before, with Wake Up and 2nd Coming both also rather heavier than most of their back catalogue. Unfortunately, like The Art Of... it lacks the poppy edge of the rest of the album, and there's not much going on behind the riffs. Wake Up is just as heavy, but is at least more memorable.

The highlight of the album is Someone Else, which is surely a possible potential hit in the making if it gets the kind of airplay that Nothing got three years ago. It's classic 'A', with the rocking and popping in equal measure and catchy as hell. However, the same can't be said of Hey, which seems to be a slightly rather cynical attempt to find a summer pop tune, and is frankly just dull.

Teen Dance Ordinance is a welcome step forwards in some regards for 'A', and there are some great tunes on it, but it is also the rather messy sound of a band who aren't totally sure where they are going. There will have to be some decisions made before they next head into the studio...