In This Light and on This Evening

Smith told The Quietus the band had stopped being excited by how they made songs, and the third album was their answer. They wrote on synthesizers, used Moog synths on the record, and took Blade Runner and The Terminator as touchstones; Smith said the result felt a bit like a soundtrack. Urbanowicz said Flood pointed them in the right direction, and Lay described Flood's method as playing live in a room, the four of them, until the parts were right. Smith said the aim was a mechanical album that was not cold or disconnected, and that London is in every song.

It entered the UK chart at number one, dropped to 13 in its second week and spent five weeks in the top 75, tied with Little Angels' Jam for the shortest run of any UK number one album. It went gold in the UK and platinum in Belgium. Reviews were divided: Drowned in Sound called it a bold statement of intent, while The Quietus found the songs lacked the strength to sustain the mood and Pitchfork gave it 3.7. Papillon, You Don't Know Love and Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool were the singles; Flood had insisted the last one stay on the record.