Watching the Rakes in London last year it was hard not to conclude that here was a band that had already outgrown its sound. The sulphate buzz of their debut Capture/Release took refuge from deadend jobs in booze, substance abuse and casual sex, but its milieu was confined to the pub. The single All too Human acknowledged the problem, but transforming into Pulp was never the answer.

Ten New Messages, however, demonstrates that the Rakes have solved the conundrum. Aided by Jim Abbiss (Arctic Monkeys) and Brendan Lynch (Primal Scream), they have taken the smart option: expand the arrangements, tighten up the songwriting but retain the postpunk ethic. The stuttering chord changes and helter-skelter urgency have been reined back in favour of subtle harmonies, nagging refrains and a more considered worldview.

The World Was a Mess But His Hair was Perfect is a paradigm of the process. Written, with no little irony, for a Dior Homme catwalk show, it penetrates the vanity of a male model with vivid, spindly guitar lines from Matthew Swinnerton, who increasingly resembles Graham Coxon in both look and style.

The Blur comparisons are instructive because the Rakes are now deeply engaged in a very British songwriting affair with London. The frontman Alan Donohoe is no Damon Albarn but his lyric writing is maturing nicely. Instead of retching over his work suit or waking up horrified next to a ten pinter, he is taking a more detached position from the chaos. We Danced Together has him up on the roof of a party “five storeys removed from the troubles on the street”, watching the action unfold in a city gripped by post7/7 paranoia. It is followed by the dynamic Trouble, which in turn paves the way for the album’s centrepiece, Suspicious Eyes, a three-way dialogue between a mother (the singer-songwriter Laura Marling), Donohoe and a black man (the rapper Rax) wearing a backpack on a crowded Tube train. It rings horribly true and displays plenty of musical chiaroscuro.

Whatever you do, don’t delete these Ten New Messages without listening to them.

Editor's choice

• The 100 Best Films of the Decade
• 70 facts you didn't know about Marvel
• The 50 Biggest Movies Of 2010