Texan outift CTRL may be veterans of the electronic scene but on 'Loaded Weapons And Darkened Days', their fourth album, their songs possess a youthfulness and viguor more commonly associated with a new band. The foursome employ danceable club beats but support it with driving guitar rhythms and some semi-gothic vocals. Occasionally, the formula sounds a little dated but the likes of 'Such A Shame' and 'Move' pack a punch thanks to their hook-filled melodies and energetic delivery. They're certainly no mugs on the slower material either as the lugubrious 'Some Other Time' and the lovelorn 'Dreams' ably demonstrate; both songs making them sound rather like an electronic version of those other masters of glum, Lowlife. There's also moments of romantic pop-rock ('The Same') and some nice usage of guitar drone on 'Reversion'. Despite a slow start, creatively speaking, CTRL manage to turn a relatively tired genre into something urgent-sounding and compelling.