The Anglo-German quintet known for their rough’n’ready-cum-intellectual art-rock get all sentimental and release a retrospective.

After just four albums, the cult, post-ironic art-rockers known for witty half-spoken, half-shouted lyrics release this two-disc best-of.

The first side runs through the band’s best tunes in chronological order and presents a fair summation of frontman Eddie Argos’ still-humourous, first-person pokes at his own failures in love and life, and being young and reckless.

This alone is enough to justify an audition for the curious who may have missed them first time round. From the declamatory, brash Formed A Band, through Emily Kane’s unrequited love and the valedictory Good Weekend, they still invigorate and Argos somehow avoids sounding trite.

Their later tracks lose some of the initial lustre and rag-tag appeal, but new tracks Arizona Bay and We Make Pop Music still shine.

The other side’s b-sides and rarities are a hit-and-miss affair, highlights including a raucous, rambling Modern Art recorded for Berlin Live which captures some of the band’s live energy.

3 stars