Look, I know a lot of people think this band produce nothing more than garden centre music but I have just had a bit of a session listening to some of their stuff and love the album 'This Way'. Track four which is apparently called 'Slampop' is like a very gentle feeling of happiness from my youth whilst cycling in the lanes of Lincolnshire on a hot breezy summer day. Yeah I know, poetical shit but this is just what it reminds me of. This CD is way more up to date than some of their stuff and although it sounds very clean and quantised I just love the feeling this music invokes.

Whilst listening to this today I tried out the old ultralinear/triode swapping thing again. Ultralinear has a more airy spacious feeling of lightness and involvement with a much better sense of timing but the stereo image is very definitely more 2D whereas triode mode engulfs the whole room in a huge swirl of sounds and effects. Triode mode though does sound more dry and less airy and sparkly. I guess it is good to have both options but as with options they usually succeed to confuse.

Altogether, a really nice experience which would have been so much better had it been early spring. Such is the mood of this album.