A strange one this. Dianogah have spent 12 years doing mostly instrumental material headed by a two bass attack, throwing in some quality novelty song titles in along the way. "Indie Rock Spock Ears", Check.Err... "A Bear Explains the Right and Wrong Ways to Put on a Shirt, Shoes, Pants and a Cap". Check. Having not released anything since Millions of Brazilians way back in 2002, you could have been forgiven for thinking that they had ceased to be. It seems that after a rethink the band are back, this time with singing, a distortion pedal and a bunch of friends along for the ride.Having built a reputation for their intensity both on record and on stage alongside the likes of Shellac, The Shipping News and Don Caballero, qhnnnl sees the Dianogah sound diversify. Opener "OneOne" is still anchored in the angular math rock of their past records, all layered bass and drums cutting through with Jay Ryan's straining voice accompanied by pretty guitar lines. However, it is the triple whammy that follows it that shows the new found maturity in Dianogah. "A breaks B" begins with a looping bass motif and the signature taut drumlines before a half whispered, half spoken joint vocal begins. The delicate whisper of guest vocalist Stephanie Morris really lifts the songs here and gives the band another dynamic that has been missing from previous releases. Add to this the mournful strings supplied by Andrew Bird and you can see how far Dianogah have come. In counterpoint to "A breaks B" is the distortion laden "qhnnnl", the heaviest thing Dianogah have done by quite some way, a big dumb thrash-out filled with pummeling bass lines. Following this with the delicate, Andrew Bird led "Andrew Jackson" serves to make the ferocity of "qhnnnl" even more apparent, as the delicate calm of Bird's swooping string loops and gentle pizzicato couldn't be further away from the thrashy noise that proceeds it.Dianogah's trademark bouncy bass lines re-emerge later in the record on "You Might Go Off", which comes on like a more fun Fugazi, complete with chanted gang vocals and harmonized distorted bass solo. In "Puma" and "Song You Hate" this muscular and discordant interplay continues, the two basses competing with squalling dischordant guitars, whiIst all the time being kept in check by the phenomenally tight drumming. You could be forgiven for thinking this sounds overly serious, but when the band stops and break down laughing during "Song You Hate", it is clear that they aren't taking themselves too seriously. For a genre that has a propensity to be quite sterile, Dianogah have managed to stay true to their original sound, while incorporating new elements and layers that only add to the overall experience of the record. That they manage to make it sound like a great deal of fun in the process doesn't hurt either. 78%Dianogah on MySpace