- Stewart Mason, AllMusic: "Half Man Half Biscuit released this album within one calendar year of its predecessor, 1997's Voyage to the Bottom of the Road [...], and perhaps that accounts for the somewhat lackluster feel. [...] [T]here is enough of interest here to appeal to the converted, but newcomers should perhaps start elsewhere."[2]
- Simon Williams, NME: "Chances of cracking open the notoriously fickle American market: slimmer than Lena Zavaroni's mop handle."[3]
| Title |
|---|
| 1. | "Children of Apocalyptic Techstep" | 2:51 |
|---|
| 2. | "Four Skinny Indie Kids" | 2:35 |
|---|
| 3. | "You're Hard" | 2:13 |
|---|
| 4. | "On Reaching the Wensum" | 3:02 |
|---|
| 5. | "Moody Chops" | 2:39 |
|---|
| 6. | "Turn a Blind Eye" | 2:25 |
|---|
| 7. | "Split Single with Happy Lounge Labelmates" | 2:11 |
|---|
| 8. | "A Country Practice" | 6:34 |
|---|
| 9. | "Secret Gig" | 3:06 |
|---|
| 10. | "Soft Verges" | 5:37 |
|---|
| 11. | "Multitude" | 2:46 |
|---|
| 12. | "Ready Steady Goa" | 3:36 |
|---|
| 13. | "Keeping Two Chevrons Apart" | 1:50 |
|---|
- The album title is a parody of a phrase associated with The Beatles, "Four lads who shook the world", referring instead to the band's origin in Wirral.
- Techstep is a subgenre of drum and bass that was popular in the late 1990s.
- Wensum is a river in Norfolk.
- A split single is a single which includes tracks by two or more separate artists.
- A Country Practice was a multi-Logie award-winning Australian television serial/drama series 1981–93.
- Goa is a state located in the southwestern region of India, formerly a Portuguese colony, known as a destination for hippies.
- "Keeping Two Chevrons Apart" refers to the official UK motorway road sign "Keep Apart 2 Chevrons", advising drivers of safe distances between vehicles;[5] the song title is quoted in "Lord Hereford's Knob" on the 2008 album CSI:Ambleside.
