Released in February 2020, a few weeks before Britain went into lockdown, Lanterns on the Lake’s fourth album is a record that senses trouble ahead. These nine meditations on political, environmental and personal turbulence find the band stretching the gauze of their dream pop and post-rock into its tautest shapes yet—a leaner, sharper-edged sound for harder times. Drums snap ominously while “Baddies” ponders the political exploitation of hatred, and discordant guitars wail with heartache on “Every Atom”, a moving journey of loss and denial. Throughout, singer Hazel Wilde, spotlighted by the sparer backing, is an elegant beacon of anger, confusion, hope and love. It’s the fullest realisation of the Newcastle indie-rockers’ ambitions to date.