Criminally known most widely as the band who provided the theme music for The Sopranos, cult Scottish swaggerers Alabama 3 return with a new album of songs to get drunk, scream Bible quotations and strip to. Over the course of the last few years, following the release of their lauded debut Exile On Coldharbour Lane in 1997 and a punishing touring schedule (couple with the kind of tales of excess that make Primal Scream's tourbus seem like a Tupperware party), the band have built up a fervent fanbase and strong cult following. Some people can't get enough of their low-slung, whisky-addled country/gospel menace, nailed as it is to the tightest hip-hop beats and slick dance-style production.

Outlaw doesn't deviate from this theme too much, but is a marked progression in sound - lead single Hello...I'm Johnny Cash is a more straightforward country tune which apes the great man's St Quentin live recording, and Have You Seen Bruce Richard Reynolds? is another slide guitar paean to the train robber, antique dealer and album's inspiration (Reynolds also adds grizzled vocals to the track). The real treat comes in the form of How Can I Protect You, a wonderful song which takes the slow pace of the beatier numbers and marries it with indie ballad-style choruses and euphoric keyboard swoops. If you like your country rock to wear its hard-partying, criminal-worshipping, hard-living heart on its sleeve, then you'll love this. Highly recommended.