It probably wouldn't be fair to Mark Gardener to go on about his previous existence as the main face of early '90s shoegaze luminaries Ride.

Because: a) that would be like going back to a time when Kurt Cobain was still alive and Noel Gallagher got paid for cleaning Clint Boon's Hush Puppies; and b) this sounds absolutely nothing like Ride. At all.

Which in hindsight is definitely a good thing, as Gardener has written possibly the most beautifully apologetic love song since 10cc's Eric Stewart first uttered the words,_ "I'm not in love, so don't forget it..."_ and a million hearts sank in coagulating unison. Add to that the neo-sci-fi production of ambient legend Ulrich Schnauss and you have a supreme candidate for a fantasy Christmas number one. If only utopia was that simple, eh...?