Madness: The Liberty of Norton Folgate

It is 30 years since Madness's debut LP One Step Beyond launched their remarkable career, said Christopher Barrett in Music Week. This year "the band are celebrating the anniversary in style": their back-catalogue is set to be reissued by Union Square Musica, and they have released this new album. With its title inspired by a once self-governing area of East London, The Liberty Of Norton Folgate "finds the band drawing heavily on the heritage of their home town for inspiration".

Yet Madness today seem "less like chroniclers of London, than of adult life, in all its complexity, disappointment and anxiety", said Andrew Perry in the Daily Telegraph. This album reminds us that they have always been "masters of maudlin, bittersweet pop". Sugar & Spice looks back on "marital dreams gone sour, while Idiot Child is a caustic portrayal of encouragement-free parenting". Grim themes, but "lovely, lovely music". (Verdict: three stars out of five) ·