Cohesive. Consistent. Predictable. Just a few words which needn’t bother applying for a position in a Tucker B’s review. Think you’ve got the band pinned down to a nice all-encompassing epithet? Ha! Watch and weep my friend, they’re wriggling out of the limp grasp of your pitifully inadequate descriptions and running in the direction of some godforsaken place where it’s perfectly acceptable for sci-fi noodlings and folky introspection to shack-up under the same roof.

The majestically titled Nightmares in the Key of (((((WOW))))) has no obvious agenda other than to confound expectation at every turn. First Born Son responds to the starter’s gun with spacey out-of-this-world synths that roll in and out of dark, organic textures. Bear, however, has absolutely no interest in taking its futuristic lead; opting instead for perky rhythms and rich guitars steeped in old-time country.

And so it goes. You’ve just settled yourself into the warm nook of No Lazy Death’s gentle brush strokes, when Mothers drags you out of that cosy stupor with a raucous burst of southern-fried rock. Ready to party now? Well that’s just tough. Pompous isn’t in the mood; too busy unfurling its anti-social squall to give a rat’s about whether you’ve got your dancing shoes on.

If the album’s screwy trajectory wasn’t enough to intimidate your average A&R rep, it also dabbles in fantastically unfashionable territory. Whilst everyone else is busy picking the last scraps of sinew from the bones of the – œ80s, the Tucker B’s have written Jungle. A fairly even-handed number that chugs along quite nicely until the synthesisers get out of hand, over-shoot the decade of the moment and make like Jeff Wayne’s 1978 classic, War of the Worlds. Stick that in your fluoro and smoke it.

The jewel in Nightmare’s… strange crown is the oddly beautiful Burd Surgeon. It’s a peculiar little tale (something to do with ornithological medical malpractice) woven around vibrant harmonics, a curious duet and a graceful, fluttering waltz. The song slowly gathers pace, picking up a chorus of drunken reprobates along the way for an entirely improbable, but undeniably moving finish.

You might think that after 15 years the Tucker B’s would be tired of short-lived dalliances with flighty genres. That now would be a good time to settle down and show some commitment, perhaps to that lovely brand of brutish rock fans have such an obvious affection for. Who knows, a semblance of stability might encourage a big corporate label to snap them up so they can make lots and lots of lovely dollars together.

Or maybe the Tucker B’s will howl and cackle like mad men, as all hopes of commercial success go down in flames with the glorious mess that is Nightmares in the Key of (((((WOW))))).

Nightmares in the Key of (((((WOW))))) is out now.