Don't ask me why, but I am getting a kind of Number 1 Record/Radio City vibe with these two albums... where Apple Venus was going for the Thirteen/India Song approach and Wasp Star is more Daisy Glaze and September Gurls. Not a bad thing, natch. Definitely more guitar on this excursion, perhaps contributing to the feeling that it's an album rather than some kind of orchestral piece. I'm getting some Tom Petty too, that lazy lick feel of summer afternoons listening to FM.

There are still weird moments, or course. Kate St John on oboe too which is a nice tough. And it has, inevitably, become a family affair. And very much reduced to the think jus of the Moulding/Partridge partnership. It tickles me that after all the introspection and analysis online around previous albums, this final one - which you might think would be the subject of some debate - seems to have very little to write home about. There's an acceptance that it's just a great XTC album. Albeit that last one for now.

2006 is when they finally called it quite - 15 years ago now. It strikes me that they will always be with us though, in some form or other. They've become that kind of band now, with some of the heat taken out of things, some of the juvenile rough edges worn away. Who would bet against a lockdown-inspired comeback? They'd certainly be welcomed with open arms.

And although I may end this brief dalliance as more of an admirer than a fan, I think there's also a sense of pride at what they achieved. Try spending 25 years in a band.