★★★★☆
In the week of the worst terrorist attack in Manchester’s history comes an album from a band forever associated with the golden age of Madchester, that brief flowering of druggy, peaceful euphoria that engulfed the city at the tail end of the 1980s and which now seems a very long time ago. And it is an album that, with its gently psychedelic rising cadences, insistent piano melodies, metronomic rhythms and overall mood of hopefulness, is something of a balm.
The number of guests appearing on Different Days is a sign of the affection with which The Charlatans, who few imagined would still be with us today, are held. Emerging from a tiny mod scene, the band found that their Hammond organ-rich, 1960s R&B-influenced style