Hysterical Injury’s Dead Wolf Situation starts with a furious, unconventional row of drum and bass that fans have come to expect from the Bath-by-Wales duo, but what unfolds thereafter sees the band take a revitalised direction. Warped by otherworldly vocals, their debut full-length album is fresh with a clean production that showcases a crisp, volatile finish.

For frontwoman and founder Annie Gardiner at least, the project spans over five years. During that time Hysterical Injury have worked through nearly as many band members as they have songs and performances; with the recent departure of Lee Stone, Annie’s brother Tom Gardiner took over on drums. Hopefully he’ll prove a staple in the lineup, not just for the sake of consistency but because his hammered rhythm lends itself perfectly to the band’s style.

Much of the aforementioned old material is absent from Dead Wolf Situation. ‘The Works’, ‘Rosetta’s Waves’ and ‘Vex’ have been trialled live, but of their more established songs only ‘Visions of Trees’ remains, with current single ‘Maths’ also getting enough airplay on BBC 6Music and Amazing Radio to be considered familiar.

Not that the band have completely laid aside the sound that they originally set out to achieve. As on last year’s Our Lives are a Futuristic Nightmare EP, the tremendous noise Annie provokes from her bass bleeds around the whip-crack of percussion with enough fervour to consume everything within a five mile radius. However some fine tweaks have brought a climatic prowl that threatens to explode mid-way through several songs, whereas the demoed tracks were all go from their opening bars. This building tension contributes to Dead Wolf Situation’s importance; few British bands are capable of purveying this type of noise rock while maintaining a detailed, melodic and structured charm. Fewer still are this coherent from beginning to end.

By the time Dead Wolf Situation’s highlight ‘Vex’ comes into play, those previously unaware of Hysterical Injury will quite literally be kicking themselves. The track shows a sordid and epileptic devotion to deadpan vocals and roaming bass, the likes of which haven’t been heard since Queens of the Stone Age’s Songs for the Deaf. Elsewhere Sonic Youth and Deerhoof exercise their massive influence over the band, without turning Dead Wolf Situation into just another fangirl/boy pastiche.

Over the past few months Hysterical Injury have achieved enough momentum to push Dead Wolf Situation into the limelight, and with the sheer talent they display on the album it’s a sure bet this will allow them to make it onto a few End of Year lists. Hypnotic, menacing and above all enchanting, it’s a bitter-sweet wake up call for all first-time bands in 2012.