Black Cherry

The duo wrote three songs while touring Felt Mountain, and began work in January 2002 in a studio in a Bohemian part of Bath, with neon lights on the walls that Alison used to write down song ideas. Early demos and pre-production used a Yamaha 02R digital mixing console. After jam sessions with Mark Linkous and Adrian Utley built momentum, they decided not to move to another studio.

Alison said slow torch songs had begun to feel really claustrophobic after touring, and that she wanted more oomph. She described the lyrics as a lot more direct. Inspirations included the Spanish disco group Baccara and the Swedish techno artist Hakan Lidbo. The sleeve is a collage by Mat Maitland of Polly Borland photographs showing Alison with two wolves.

Reception

The album debuted at number 19 in Britain with 14,859 copies sold and was certified platinum on 26 August 2005. In the United States it reached number four on the Top Electronic Albums chart. It earned the band a nomination for Best British Dance Act at the 2004 Brit Awards, where Basement Jaxx won. The Guardian's Alexis Petridis called it laudable, challenging and immensely enjoyable, while Pitchfork's Michael Idov criticized the switch to electro.