Joseph Mount formed Metronomy in 1999 and in over a quarter of a century since, the band have brightened up indie discos, their own gigs and festivals – quite literally at some of their first shows, when they’d wear T-shirts with synchronised lights woven in (including the first time we saw them, supporting The Pipettes at Shepherds Bush Empire in 2007).

Inspired by everyone from Pavement to Parliament, Metronomy’s ‘Greatest Hits’ offers a 20-song tour through the band’s history – but delivered in more of a setlist format than chronological orders. As a bonus, the album contains 17 previously unreleased BBC Radio session tracks.

The album kicks off with that iconic synth line of ‘The Look’ – and seriously, where else would you start? Eminently danceable with a woozy bass line at the forefront, it’s a song that everyone loves, especially with its positive lyrics (a trait you’ll discover over the course of the record is very much on brand for Mount and Metronomy): ‘You get up when we get down, we’re always running around this town’. ‘The Bay’ follows with its thumping rhythms, angular guitars and references to London, Paris and Berlin. It’s somewhere between Hot Chip and Prince and it’s glorious.

‘Heartbreaker’ follows in a similar vein but with a dollop of heartbreak situated within the sadness: ‘I head you broke your heart again, so now you’re gonna come and see me’. Romance in all its forms is another key theme over the course of Metronomy’s career; ‘A Thing for Me’ declaring in falsetto ‘I’ve got a thing for you, you’ve got a thing for me’ and ‘Aquarius’s ‘You said our love was written in the stars but I’ve never seen my chart’ falling at very different stages.

‘Love Letter’ is a slow-burner that eventually morphs into something that vaguely resembles The Supremes, while ‘The Light’ is slower and soulful: ‘I understand that I hold you back’. ‘Night Owl’ mixes tal about death and graves with a big chorus and self-admission – ‘I’ll take the feelings I wish I never had’ – before ‘Old Skool’ finds Joseph in jealous mood amidst plenty of cowbell and Beastie Boy Mix Master Mike’s frenzied scratches.

The album also takes you back to the start of Metronomy with ‘My Heart Rate Rapid’ reminding you they started as more largely instrumental and electronic band with thunderous drumming, while the still stunningly titled ‘This Could Be Beautiful (It Is)’ had a playful Grandaddy-esque tone to it. You can hear the evolution through to 2019’s ‘Salted Caramel Ice Cream’ – a Battles-y slice of power pop that can’t fail to make you smile.

‘Things Will Be Fine’ mixes nostalgia with jangle-guitar pop melodies and defiant words – ‘I might save the save the day, I might change the world’ while ‘Right On Time’ also offers some comforting words of wisdom: ‘For now, let’s enjoy the sunshine’. The compilation ends where Metronomy’s journey began with ‘You Could Easily Have Me’, the first song on their first album.

With their ‘Greatest Hits’, Metronomy are celebrating a marvellous history that’s found them mastering and mixing up all kinds of genres while delivering banger after banger. Everything still is beautiful.