Handcream for a Generation

Handcream for a Generation was recorded between mid-2000 and June 2001, alternating between West Orange Studios in Preston and Eastcote Studios in Ladbroke Grove, London. Singh produced it, and Rob Swift co-produced Wogs Will Walk and Slip the Drummer One. Singh wanted songs that worked live, which meant recording a bass guitar for the first time. Wiiija released it on 1 April 2002, and the US edition followed on 23 April through BMG, distributed by V2.

The record opens with the soul-funk of Heavy Soup, with Otis Clay as MC, and reprises it to close. Staging the Plaguing of the Raised Platform has a children's choir. Lessons Learned from Rocky I to Rocky III has Paul McGuigan of Oasis on bass. Spectral Mornings runs for 14 minutes, with Sheema Mukherjee on sitar and Noel Gallagher on guitar. The album reached number 30 on the UK Albums Chart and scored 78 on Metacritic from 23 reviews.

Pitchfork's Rob Mitchum called the record the most globalist musical statement since Michael Jackson's Black or White video. Christgau gave it an A and summed it up as how to be conscious and happy at the same time. The Guardian's Alexis Petridis said what should be an incoherent jumble was held together by sheer exuberance. In October 2002 Wiiija released the band from its contract because of poor sales.