Since the relase of Live-ism in 2003, we've kind of been on the back burner a bit. We released an acoustic album in 2005 after being asked to do a "plugged out" gig in Maidenhead at around that time. It was a real joy to get back to the basics with guitar, bass, drums a bit of piano and a violin. 

In many ways, it was the start of the process towards producing "Aurora Noise". We've all had family commitments and other stuff that needed our attention and so the last few years have been something of a sabbatical in which we've been able to reflect on what we are as a band and to recharge the batteries after quite a few years of gigging and recording.

Some of the songs on the new album date back to 2004 (Be Thou, I Still Believe) and others (Call me Stupid, Land of the Blind) were written as recently as January this year - unexpected but welcome last minute inspiration that Phil Goss had as he was piecing together the album. We also had some fun doing our own 10 minute prog-rock kind of epic - the title track of the album. 

So, at last the album is done and we celebrated this by putting on a gig at a fantastic church in Long Crendon, where 200 people crammed in to witness the first ever live performance of the new songs (and a couple of old ones). It's always a bit nerve-racking before it all happens, thinking whether people will like the songs, whether we will remember all the chords and words. 

The evening was brilliant and the audience response left us in no doubt that what we produced was right on the money (if you'll pardon the cliche). We had a whole spectrum of ages, people we've known for ages and people we met for the first time. The whole thing can be summed up in one word - fun! Our crew surpassed themselves in delivering a superb sound, lighting and multi-media show. We are going through video foootage of the night and hope to produce either a live DVD of the show or giving online access to excerpts. 
So, a big thank you to all of you who came and made the launch so special.