The Thing - Boot! (2013)

Scandinavian improv trio the Thing (saxist Mats Gustafsson, bassist Ingebrigt Haker Flaten and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love) have released a string of albums and played hundreds of gigs worldwide in joyous defiance of the idea that raw noise and indifference to careful planning are inimical to music-making. Last year, alongside former pop singer and Brit award-winner Neneh Cherry, they created an inspired brew of experimental pop and sax-wailing ferocity, and though this studio set for the core band doesn't stray as close to familiar song-shapes, the Thing always suggest storylines and melody even at their most merciless – the result of orthodox-music experience deep enough to generate a rich deconstructivist palette.