"There's no path to follow" repeats an angelic voice over the futuristic death march opening 'We Are The Night'. That's a blatant lie — on their sixth album the Chemical Brothers' once again tread the same well-worn path they have since 1995. You know the drill: big beats, persistent vocals, collaborations with young hipsters and elder statesmen, deep puffs of '60s psychedelia, and the occasional air-raid siren.

But despite the familiarity of it all — and their thinning hair — there's no sense that the party's over for Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Instead of shuffling off to the great disco in the sky, they've turned in their strongest collection since turning 30 almost a decade ago.

Just listen to 'Do It Again'. Featuring the virtually unknown Ali Love, it's an unstoppable assault on the brain's pleasure centre and the dance charts; a not so subtle tap on the shoulder for ubiquitous hit maker Timbaland. In case pop music's current ruler didn’t get their message ("watch your back, we're coming for your crown") first time out, 'The Salmon Dance' should do the trick. A quirky concoction of The Flaming Lips, hip-hop, and 'Sesame Street' it's a banging good tune that also "teaches you some fun facts about salmon and a brand new dance". Take that, 'SexyBack'.

As good, but falling short on the Wayne Coyne out-there scale, is 'All Rights Reversed'. A runaway train of a song that runs at the pace of modern city life, it's all surging synthesisers, rampant rhythms and strained singing from new dance-rock stars The Klaxons. Notably less frantic, 'Battlescars' is no less interesting, contrasting the spirit of the Carpenters (a tinkling piano and what sounds suspiciously like a xylophone) with the dark, Johnny Cash vocals of singer-songwriter Willy Mason.

Strangely spiritual for a dance album, yet it's actually surpassed by 'The Pills Won't Help You Now', with Midlake's downcast folk complemented by some subtle ambient textures from Rowlands and Simons. As refined and graceful as 'Do It Again' is overblown, it's nonetheless even more captivating — a remarkable end to a remarkable return.

The Chemical Brothers' path is clear.