The band's producer was David Francolini (formerly the drummer with Levitation and later performing the same role for Dark Star) with Chris Sheldon and John Cornfield assisting with several of the mixes.

During the recording, various external musicians were brought in to add to the band's sound, with Shearer being particularly influenced by The Beach Boys and The Beatles as well as The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett (where they get their name).

The backwards guitar solo on "Your Smile" is from the original 4-track recording done in Shearer's kitchen in Glasgow and the album is a mixture of high and low production values.

Other contributing musicians include both core members of Blowpipe (Robin and Andrew Blick, the latter of whom was part of Octopus' live brass section), singer Katherine Blake (Mediaeval Baebes, Miranda Sex Garden), folk musician Nigel Mazlyn Jones and cellist Audrey Riley.

When the initial singles, "Magazine", "Your Smile" and "Saved" were not major hits, EMI pushed for the release of "Jealousy" believing it to be radio friendly but it also failed to perform well in the charts.