The Who start off their new album in explosive fashion with All This Music Must Fade, which promises of the good to come.

The 60s legends have brought their signature sound to the album – both in their approach to instrumentation, and in the familiar Daltrey vocals. It means that any changes stand out. There are moments here and there throughout the album which stand out to any listener – the extra voice that crops up in certain places in All This Music Must Fade, or the addition of a harmonica line in I’ll Be Back (insert your own Terminator joke here). But Hero Ground Zero and Break the News are two entire songs that break with the overall sound of the album. The songs are slower than the others, and they have a more wistful quality to them.

Rockin’ In Rage and She Rocked my World are also pared back compared to the other works. Instead of the full instrumentation of other songs, these use one major instrument with some backing. They work very well to centre Daltrey’s voice and the words of the song, giving a wonderful effect.

While no song can be said to be a copy of previous work, there are of course hints of familiarity throughout the album. Street Song, where the beginning sounds vaguely like that of Baba O’Reilly, is an obvious one.

This self-titled album is an amazing new outing for The Who, and hopefully a good sign there is more to come in the future. Let’s all hope that the band continue to bring their listeners such high quality work.