Chicago’s Pelican have been around for getting close to two decades now, and have produced unfailingly strong work throughout that period. Nighttime Stories is album number six, but it’s also their first record for six years. A welcome return, then. As ever, Pelican have served up some top-notch instrumental post-metal here, which is both melodic and inventive. The mellower acoustic elements that were introduced on 2013’s Forever Becoming are wisely retained, but nonetheless Nighttime Stories is an overall heavier effort than their last, with sections that sound rather more Karma to Burn than Red Sparowes. Probably not Pelican’s very best work (I think I’d give that honour to 2007’s City of Echoes), but close, and a reminder of how good they are after a notable layover between albums.