Album Review: The Modern Age by Sleeper

Twenty-five years ago, the London band were getting their first live write-ups in the music weeklies, and "Swallow," their second single, was denting the indie charts. A few years and a few turns on magazine covers later, cracks began to appear. Wener recalls in Just For One Day, her succinct and endearing contribution to the rich literary genre that is the Britpop memoir, how focusing on the follow-up to The It Girl proved difficult because she felt rushed to repeat its success.

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Sleeper are back - and there has been quite a fanfare about the reappearance of Louise Wener and co, proudly presenting their first music in 21 years. Whether you missed them or not will probably depend on your age. Those of us north of 30 with an interest in pop music will remember their successful formula of pop-rock nuggets, laced with a healthy edge of attitude.

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It's difficult to envisage any other music scene in recent years that's stood the test of time less than Britpop. Rooted in nostalgia and an arrogant sense of its own importance, most of its key players' music already sounded dated long before the decade turned into a 21st century full of hope, adventure, and Coldplay. Not that everything to come out of the scene made us feel despondent.

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The Britpop heroes dodge the nostalgia circuit, their comeback album - released 22 years since its predecessor - reminding us why we loved them first time round. Yet they flounder when they explore new terrain Whether you're reuniting to give the nostalgia freaks what they want, or to discover what that experimental post-jazz fifth album you never made might have sounded like, confidence is key - just ask Pixies and Suede. In the '90s, Louise Wener would swan into Sleeper songs knowing she was the queen of Britpop's suburban indie-pop scene.

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