This is the 4th album by the Brewis brothers, Peter & David , who are based in the North East of England. It has garnered widespread good critical reviews, and crams 15 tracks into just 36 minutes. The overiding comparison for me is with XTC, with intelligent articulate songs with distinctive frequent time changes, sometimes dense production, spikey angular guitar moments interspersed with melodic vocals and some classy arrangements with violins and cello. There is lots to take in, and even after half a dozen listens, new aspects reveal themselves in this fascinating complex smorgasbord. A couple of times 3 or 4 tracks run into each other, and initially you are not clear whether this is still the same track taking a different twist, or a new song. There are a few sound effects, like chiming clock tower bells at the opening of A Prelude to Pilgrim Steet. Choosing Sides starts off with a deep synthesiser refrain that reminds me bizzarely of the alien tune from film Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind. The snippet of track 12, How Many More Times , is just beautiful acapella vocals. Sometimes they seem a bit too clever for their own good, which perhaps alienates the casual listener, and where they keep it simpler , it maybe better. An intriguing collection that repays repeated listening, where the complex arrangements become more familiar. You are drawn into stories behind some of the songs, like being late on frustrating jouneys on Sorry Again Mate; economic pressures of day to day life on Who'll Pay the Bills; and trying to understand complex theories (I keep Thinking About) a New Thing. So wideranging subject matter, standing out as distinct and different from most of the standard pop fodder, but keeping things a bit more staightforward might be even better in the future to appeal to a wider audience.