When Gene emerged in 1995 as part of a new wave of Britpop, the band — in particular vocalist Martin Rossiter — quickly gained a reputation in the US for sounding like the Smiths. Olympian, their US debut, was full of melancholy melodies and Rossiter’s Morrissey-style overwrought lyrics. But Libertine, the band’s fourth full-length, bears little resemblance to that time. Now favoring a more subdued approach, Gene have begun to reach further back, to the ’60s and ’70s, for their cues. "From Georgia to Osaka" is a mod-style soul number, "We’ll Get What We Deserve" is organ-laced psychedelia, and "Yours for the Taking," the disc’s standout, brings to mind the new wave of Talk Talk’s "It’s My Life" filtered through classic Motown. The once so overt choruses are now few and far between, except on the bouncy, guitar-driven "Walking in the Shallows." The result may be less readily digestible, but Libertine’s polished, debonair songs are still worth spending some time with.