SOME things in life are suspiciously easy, If you hacked into B*Witched's computer by guessing the password "denim" or plucked a name out of thin air and blagged your way in on a guest list, you'd think something was afoot and you'd ask questions... So when a new Electronic album trundles along, doesn't sound much cop, strangely reminds you of Black Grape and sprawls like the hellish antithesis of all that was great about "Electronic" and quite great about "Raise the Pressure", questions have to be asked.

   Well, they don't have to be asked. The easy option would be to write it off as a dodgy third album from two men who may have saved pop in the eighties, but whose talents have dried up. Oh well, not to worry, etc, when's the Suede album out? But of you're still asking the questions, answers gradually float to the surface. Cliche ahoy: "Twisted Tenderness" takes a few listens.

   In fact, it takes quite a few listens, and it seems like taxing stuff. Where "Electronic" specialised in three-and-a-half-minute pop spankers, this lasts over an hour. But never mind the length - feel the width on an album that sees Johnny Marr and Bernard Sumner in a radical shift of responsibilites: where the duo's first two albums were 70 per cent New Order and 30 per cent The Smiths, the balance has now reversed, and - perversely - Electronic have never sounded so rich, fresh or natural.

   Indeed, there are only two electronic Electronic tracks here - the introductory "Make it Happen" with its echoes of "The Rockafeller Skank", and the title song. That the most technified of these two should also be the album's sixth track epitomises the happy contradiction at the heart of Electronic: while saving your best effort for the album's sixth song is a throwback to the days of 10-track vinyl LPs. And while Electronic themselves have "regressed" into the sound of a proper band (the horror!), there's a futuristic spark to the album that ignites every time, from the anthem-like drawl of "Prodigal Son" to the melancholic "Flicker", a hesitant homage to the telly.

   There's a further contradiction in the fact that Sumner's reunion with producer Arthur Baker (most recently seen shaping band's sounds to order on BBC 1's "Get Your Act Together") should result in his most live-sounding performance in years - Barney's vocals, jarring against the band sound, sounding more fragile and terrified than ever.

   OK, so when all your questions are answered, there are various weaknesses to this album, but it rarely loses its vision or focus. While in avoiding the distraction of scene-stealing guest stars and wheeling out members of Black Grape (most evident on "Breakdown") and Doves on rhythm, Electronic have perfected a full band sound while maintaining their stance as a duo. "Twisted Tenderness" may not be what we want from Electronic, but we need it from someone - and for now things seem safe with Johnny and Bernard: less suspiciously easy than reassuringly difficult. Like we expected anything else?