It's probably fair to say Californian trio Autolux aren't exactly the most prolific bunch. Since forming in 2001, they've graced us with two albums, a handful of singles… and that's pretty much it. Preferring to opt for quality over quantity, the few releases they have bestowed upon us have all been of a particularly high standard. Which considering the crystalline benchmark set by outstanding debut Future Perfect in 2004, isn't to be scoffed at in any way, shape or form.

Follow-up Transit Transit took another six years to materialise so it shouldn't come as that much of a surprise that album number three, Pussy's Dead, has had a similarly lengthy gestation period. Not that the three core members of Autolux have been on an extended vacation. Drummer Carla Azar has juggled her time between working on and touring Jack White's Blunderbuss with starring in Lenny Abrahamson's movie 'Frank' as well as producing Boots' debut album Aquaria. Meanwhile, guitarist Greg Edwards released two albums with the band he first started in 1992, Failure before eventually breaking up then reformimg again last year in the wake of most recent long player The Heart Is A Monster. Not content with being the odd one out, bass player and lead vocalist Eugene Goreshter played on Nine Inch Nails' last record Hesitation Marks, which if nothing else should at least demonstrate the high regard he and his fellow conspirators in Autolux are held.

Having also toured and worked with the likes of Portishead, Atoms For Peace, UNKLE and My Bloody Valentine during their fifteen year existence, its easy to see why the arrival of a new Autolux record is regarded as such a big deal in many quarters of music's wide and varied sphere. Having recently signed to Danger Mouse's 30th Century Records imprint of which Pussy's Dead is the first release, the aforementioned Boots has repaid the compliment to Azar and co. in assuming production duties. And while it would be unfair to suggest his influence looms instinctively over the end product, there's more than a hint of Run The Jewels and FKA Twigs recent offerings - two of the artists the esteemed producer has worked with - particularly in the rhythmic interplay at work across Pussy's Dead.

What that makes for is an album that's quite brave in its execution, but also an often uneasy and disjointed listen. While Future Perfect saw Autolux taken to the hearts of many a shoegaze aficionado, no doubt in need of a respite from the grunge, Britpop and nu metal hordes responsible for dispatching said genre to the back burner over the previous decade. The band themselves have always been about experimenting and pushing boundaries. Opening the doors to new territories but once explored, slamming them firmly shut and moving onto the next venture. So it's not really that much of a shock to the system that Pussy's Dead represents their most eclectic collection to date.

Embracing numerous genres from jazz to ambient pop and skewed electronica as well as the more familiar lo-fi tones sprinkled with a touch of psychedelia. Opener 'Selectallcopy' finds itself caught between a rock and a hard place where big beat interludes rule the day. "It's so hard to be happy all of the time" declares its chorus and while not the most engaging start to a record you'll hear this year, it's great to have them back all told. Former single 'Soft Scene' sounded like something Dalek would have put his name to on release at the back end of last year, and while awkwardly rearing its head during the early stages of Pussy's Dead, it falls short and ultimately ends up as one of the weaker tracks here.

Indeed, the first half of the album is a tale of peaks and troughs, its highpoint being the dreamy 'Hamster Suite' which bears similarities to both Deerhunter and Blonde Redhead in its opulent make up.

The second half of Pussy's Dead fares much better. Fusing jazz with psychedelic chamber pop, 'Brainwasher' vies for the title of most accessible song on the record with symphonic penultimate number 'Change My Head' – the latter's hallucinogenic synthesis between Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Out Of My Hair's lost classic from the late Nineties 'Safe Boy' just steals the crown. 'Listen To The Order' also makes its own claim to being the most outlandish four minutes on the album, it's mash up of discordant funk and loud erudite guitar bursts making for an altogether unique synthesis.

By the time lovelorn lament 'Becker' brings Pussy's Dead to a close, it's soothing tones a polar opposite to much of what's gone before, there's still an element of doubt in where Autolux's true identity lies. But then I guess the Californian trio wouldn't have it any other way.