As Thurston Moore continues to noodle away on uninspired gentle side projects designed to emulate the more commercial side of Neil Young, leave it to his ex Kim Gordon to make more interesting music; it seems she was Sonic Youth’s real secret weapon after all.

Play Me, her third solo album, sees her team up again with punk producer Justin Raisen, and it’s like they both decided that previous album The Collective was a winning formula (it was) and so they haven’t strayed too far from that path. This album slaps.

There are jazz samples and hip-hop beats on the title track and ‘Black Out’ is an itchy response to American unrest; grimy beats and deployment of Autotune in a more interesting and unsettling way than most. Somehow it seeks to disconcert – not augment – the sound.

Gordon’s trademark vocal – half sexy purr, half anxious warning to be vigilant – is of course front and centre throughout, adding to the sense of unease on ‘Girl With A Look’. Dave Grohl’s battering ram drums are juxtaposed with found sounds and samples on ‘Busy Bee’, one of the best tracks here, while ‘Byebye25!’ re-emerges, with Gordon reminding us, pointedly, of the words Trump has banned. It’s a sobering yet caustic closer to an album that’s very short but gets shit done in a way that bands half her age can only dream of. Which is encouraging. When I grow up, I’d like to be half as cool as Kim Gordon.