The Last Broadcast

The band went back into the studio in January 2001, determined, Goodwin told NME, to shed the perception people had of them. Jez Williams said they had much more confidence and wanted the record to be more optimistic and hopeful. They left the Cheetham Hill studio for Revolution in Manchester, Parr Street in Liverpool, Peter Gabriel's Real World in Bath, The Dairy and 2 kHz in London, and a cottage in Lancashire. "M62 Song" is credited as recorded under a motorway flyover in Northenden. Sean O'Hagan of The High Llamas arranged strings, brass and woodwind, and "Satellites" has gospel choir vocals. The album was written, recorded and mixed within eight months, and the last song to arrive was "Caught by the River".

It entered the UK chart at number one, sold 52,000 copies in its first week and later went platinum. Singles were "There Goes the Fear" (3), "Pounding" (21) and "Caught by the River" (29), each issued in limited quantities. Joe Tangari of Pitchfork wrote that the band sounded more comfortable and confident than on Lost Souls and relied less on production to carry their ideas. NME gave it 9 out of 10. A Guardian review in April 2002 gave it three stars and called it more like a guided tour of 1970s prog-rock, saying that with its linked tracks and echo it suggested a concept album in form. A July 2002 concert at the Eden Project in Cornwall was filmed for the DVD Where We're Calling From. In the United States it came out on Capitol on 4 June 2002, and the album was nominated for the Mercury Prize.