Forever inserting interludes where you’re sure there should be a chorus, like relatives that rearrange the furniture whilst you’re on holiday, The Futureheads’ output thus far has been one angular, start-stop-start-pause sonic barrage after another, so what you’d probably not expect from ‘Skip To The End’ is for it to sound, well, normal.

The first single to be taken from what is supposedly a bigger-sounding, more mature second album, News and Tributes, is the audio equivalent of a Sunday stroll. Lacking the frenetic, kinetic energy of earlier songs like ‘Meantime’ and ‘Area’, the feeling here is decidedly muted where it once was assertive. The guitars sound angry enough and the harmonies are retained for the chorus, but gone are the irregular pauses and convulsing riffs, with only an extra bar inserted between the first verse and chorus and some interesting drum work in the instrumental break detracting from the linearity.

Interestingly, it is in the hands of another that 'Skip To The End displays greater potential. Available from mid-June are four download-only remixes courtesy of Digitalism, which grabs the original by its ear and frogmarches it to the nearest club dancefloor, much like Paul Epworth's Phones persona did to 'Hounds of Love'. Three of the four mixes are re-edits of the initial 'Digitalism Remix', as stereotypically repetitive, pounding kickdrum is backed up by layers of sweeping, synth-based effects and added keyboards with Barry Hyde's charismatic vocals overlayed, and select sections of the original guitar helping out in the verse. The fourth, the 'Extended Re-edit', uses only 'Skip To The End''s actual tracks to extend the original, not that there's anything the song can do for you in five minutes that it couldn't do in its original three.

Digitalism stay true to the original with each mix, yet the effects really help bring 'Skip To The End' out of its shell, stretching it like putty in each direction, remoulding it from a rather reserved Clash-like number and giving it a new life as an atmospheric floor-filler. The bridge between guitar and club music is bridged effortlessly, merely by introducing a constant beat into the proceedings.

That's not to say the original doesn't merit applause, and despite its apparent lethargy, Barry’s vocals do literally skip across the track. He sounds more settled - relaxed even - and this album will certainly be a marked progression on their debut. The main question asked of them will be, is it all too relaxed? This band found success using frantic fretwork and quirky vocal arrangements like few others could - by taking that away, is there enough left to set the ‘Heads apart from the chasing art-rock pack?

“Is it a happy ending, or a broken heart?”, muses Barry. As far as News and Tributes goes, let’s hope it’s the former.