Don’t be put off by the title. There’s nothing wan or pallid about this record. Rather, Dodos are in rude health on their fourth album No Color and they’re keeping things simple and stripped back. For a start, their line-up is back to a two-piece again and there are only nine tracks on the record. But Meric Long and Logan Kroeber are playing to their strengths. Long switches between acoustic and electric guitar to fine effect, and knows when to let rip with a killer riff. However, it’s Krober who really impresses – his drumming is the centrepiece of the album, and it’s the main thing that remains after listening to No Color.

Right from the opening bars of lead track ‘Black Light’, there’s a real urgency to the duo’s playing and they seem to be in a hurry to get through their short setlist, songs tumbling out as they rattle along. So much so that on ‘Going Under’ they seem to be trying to cram several songs into one as they shift direction and time signatures more then once. But it works superbly well – it’s probably the best track on the album.

They can’t quite keep up the levels of energy that crackle from the first few songs, and it dissipates a little towards the end, though the slower songs are no less compelling. By the time they get to closer ‘Don’t Stop’ they’ve gathered enough for a big push to the finish in impressive, if slightly exhausting style.

But there are more than just guitars, percussion and energy. The likes of ‘Sleep’ and ‘Companions’ employ strings, but they’re far from obtrusive, literally playing second fiddle to Krober and Long’s own instruments. Backing vocals come courtesy of Neko Case on a few tracks, but her usual bold and brassy vocals are also downplayed, perhaps a little too much. And most importantly, tunes certainly have not been forgotten. Although this isn’t a collection of huge hooks, given just a little time, the strength of the melodies will soon begin to seep through. Some of them – like ‘Don’t Try and Hide It’ – might even have you singing along.

No Color is an album of subtleties as well as immediate strengths, one to be thrilled and swept along by its energy, but also to return to and find more. It’s the sound of a band at the top of their game, whatever colour that might look like.