After the relatively speedy writing and recording of the first album 'Suburban Nostalgia' our second album has taken four YEARS to write and we've been in the studio on and off for another four months recording and producing. The twelve new songs on 'Weird and Wonderful' feature an eclectic mix of pop, rock and general whimsy! The title came out of John's dawning realisation that many of the lyrics he was writing were connected with the darker side of human existence - a stalker, a deluded lover, a depressed coffee-drinker and so on - while the others were much lighter, being about family, love and strong characters doing good deeds. On the music side, Annie has been working on her guitar skills and almost all tracks feature live guitars and drums. 'Love in the Afternoon' opens the album and is sung by Annie. It tells the story of a young woman waiting to give her lover a pleasant surprise one sunny summer's afternoon. 'Spin Doctor' features John on vocals, and is about the 'truth' that politicians of all flavours are always trying to ram down our throats. John's second song - 'More Than Just Your Face' - is about someone who is still single, despite having a lot going for her. Annie returns to lead vocals with 'Grey Horizon', a song about depression. 'Sovereign Stranger' is about a strange but powerful visitor who turns up to help at the hour of our greatest need, and then disappears again. The track contains several clues about exactly who this visitor is, and is sung by Annie. 'Rainy Day Delusion' gives John the chance to sing the tale of a lost love (who was never really a love in the first place). 'What It Means' is a feelgood song about sharing the nicer things in life with the one you love and is also sung by John. One of the darkest songs on the album, Annie breathes real life into a song that is more about death. 'Rug Rat' tells the story of an axe murder, but the narrator's head is so messed up she doesn't know if she's murderer or murdered. 'Something and Nothing' features Annie on lead vocal reviewing a love gone astray, and the way it can mess with your head. John guests on the vocals on this one. 'Me and My Girls' is a personal song for John, as he sings about his fabulous family! Showing how a single flashing smile can give a guy the wrong idea, 'Flight of the Raven' tells the story of forbidden attraction to a raven-haired beauty. John sings this one. And finally Annie closes the album with 'Romany Refrain' - a song she composed originally for a stage production of 'Live Like Pigs' by John Arden in 2008, relating the feelings of travelling folk in the 20th century. A few additional lyrics from John were all that was needed to turn this into the perfect closing number for Weird and Wonderful.