It’s been four years since the last release from Scotland’s We Were Promised Jetpacks. While 2014’s Unravelling was a stunner, it also felt like the band was going through the motions to a degree. However, on their latest, the recently released The More I Sleep The Less I Dream, the group returns to form and reignites their initial sound.

The ten track album opens with the chill and building notes of “Impossible,” only to open up like a flower fresh from the ground. There’s hints of shoegaze thrown into their already solid reputation as an indie rock band, while they swell upwards incorporating a more focused and refined sound. This gets followed with the heavier and energetic notes of “In Light,” where it’s obvious that the band was ready to come back stronger than ever before. The song should remind you of what bands like Magazine and Mission of Burma incorporated into their sound. While the band still embodies all the grit that many Scottish rock bands employed, there’s plenty of light in these tracks.

The shine and gleam to “Make It Easier,” the hook heavy and tone drenched notes of “Hanging In,” and the dark emotions of “Improbable,” all show a band heading to new places while keeping the core of where they came from. There’s a shimmer to the track, “When I Know More” that comes off as heightened, though it’s the lead single “Repeating Patterns” where the space that the band is in now really comes to light. Full of heavier guitar and a meandering tone, We Were Promised Jetpacks is back in full force.

You can stream The More I Sleep The Less I Dream on all streaming sites, or purchase it directly from Amazon, iTunes, or Google Play. We Were Promised Jetpacks will be on tour through the first of December. Complete tour dates can be found here.

Image Credits: Photo by Eleanor Petry.