These days, the ‘Bristol Sound’ is, on the whole, a relic of the past. Trip-hop’s birthplace is still a bustling hub of cultural exports, but that particular trend is on life support. The legends of the style remain mostly intact – Massive Attack and Portishead are alive and well – but it’s fallen out of favour with the unwashed masses since it’s heyday in the ’90s and very early ’00s. Some, like DJ Scott Hendy (AKA Boca45) remain in the scene, lurking through the post-apocalyptic wastes on his lonesome, occasionally visited by Geoff Barrow for collaborations. He, alongside bandmate Gee Ealey, exists today as one half of Malachai, Bristol’s unpigeonholeable (that’s a word, honest) gruesome twosome. They call themselves ‘nosebleed folk’, whatever that is, but they sound like a bizarre combo of Fatboy Slim, Tricky, the Prodigy, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Gogol Bordello and Franz Ferdinand. Sort of. It’s really hard to describe their sound in general.

For the third instalment in Malachai’s Ugly trilogy – the first two parts being 2009′s Ugly Side Of Love and 2011′s Return To The Ugly Side – the duo embark upon a chaotic journey. Beyond Ugly can flit between acoustic folk and hip-hop and ’60s psychedelia and dance-funk within the same breath. It’s eclectic, eccentric and frenetic – not necessarily alienating, but you truly can’t take anything for granted when it comes to Malachai. They are the kings of unpredictable. When they described their previous record Return To The Ugly Side, the said that “the first album is like a poppy, eager Labrador, like ‘here’s a big tune! And here’s another!’ … the Labrador has been around the block a few times now. It feels truer to us.” For Beyond Ugly, it seems like that Labrador has lost its freakin’ marbles.

Cuts like “Sweet Flower” are bombastic funk-rock powerhouses. Ealey channels Korn, the basslines are huge, whomping discussions on disco, the pace is breathless, running-for-your-life rapid. It’s bonkers. “I Deserve To No”, with Indian folk instrumentation, is similarly loose-screwed; Ealey’s trapped in a furious delirium. There’s dancehall vibes, and a ’60s anti-war protest theme; imagine Bob Dylan on PCP doing reggae. Lurking on the seabed, Hendy and Ealey (and Serge Pizzorno) craft “Dragons Ball” – distorted vox, a pogo bassline that will not quit and Freddy Krueger-ed beats all feature. When Malachai go off the rails, they leap 60ft and bolt like Bolt.

Then can tone down their madness though. “The Love” uses tremolo samples and repeated drones to form the undergrowth that Ealey croons over: “I heard all what the crook said/ the baker and the liar/ but where is the love?/ where is the love, I don’t get it.” “Dark Before The Dawn” is downtempo ambiance – perhaps the truest ‘Bristol Sound’ Malachai offer on Beyond Ugly. Expect rainstorms, slinking jazz bass and rimshots. It’s jarringly classy. “End” is built upon chewed-out vocal samples and barebones instrumentation. It’s texturally thin, which provides a nice palette shift to rest your ears.

Beyond Ugly would be an odd introduction to Malachai – well, any record would be really, as they’re quite an odd outfit, but if you’ve not heard the initial portions of the Ugly trilogy you may end up losing out on the transitions and transformations between albums. This third full-length is enjoyable as a standalone too, but probably more so with the added context. On Beyond Ugly you can expect to witness sonic mayhem in abundance and delicate, thought-provoking passages on love, life, loss, politics and society; it’s not vacuous behind the aural salvo, there’s quite a bit of thematic meat to ravish.

Who it caters to, we may never find out, but there’s sure to be something on offer on this record you’ll be able to take away for a nibble or two. It might be too much too fast for the casual listener, but for seasoned vets, this will surely wrap up this chapter of Malachai’s life perfectly.