'Outpost Transmission' sees a return to action for the house/techno group that the Madchester fans could enjoy largely because of their indie-informed sound. Their crossover paved the way for The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers to build on their success. The core trio of Graham Massey, Darren Partington and Andrew Barker return after a six-year absence with the usual quota of guest appearances. Simian feature on '606', Elbow's Guy Garvey sings for the melancholic 'Lemonsoul' whilst two of Alabama 3 contribute to 'Crossword' which oddly resembles Faithless' chill-out anthem 'Insomnia'. As has often been the case with 808 State they achieve more satisfying results when they go it alone delivering global dance instrumentals - 'Chopsumwong', 'Suntower' and 'Slowboat' - that wouldn't have been out of place on their excellent last album 'Don Solaris'. 'Boogieman' is a rather annoying novelty but the oriental strains of 'Dissadis' and the shuffling strut of 'Bent' are well above average. Not a ground-breaking effort by anyone's standards but 808 State's gift for melody has definitely not deserted them.