Singles The first single to be released from the album was "Ready or Not", which featured B-side covers of "
Another Girl, Another Planet" and
Wire's "Outdoor Miner". It reached No. 20 in the
UK charts. The single version differs from that found as the penultimate track on the album. "What If..." was released October 1996 in the UK. It peaked at No. 14 in the charts and, continuing in the vein of the previous single, included a cover of The Beach Boys' "
Here Today" as a cassette-only B-side. The single's title track, co-written by
Terry Hall and Broudie, featured a poppy sound reminiscent of
The Turtles' "
Happy Together". "Sugar Coated Iceberg" was co-written with
Stephen Jones of
Babybird, who Broudie admired as a contemporary songwriter partially due to the sense of humour exhibited in his lyrics. On hearing "
You're Gorgeous" and "Too Handsome To Be Homeless" played live, Broudie suggested to Jones that it would be "great to get together and write a song". According to Broudie, the words were written around the title, coming from the concept of a sugar-coated iceberg. and moves into a more acoustic mode in "Waiting for Today to Happen", a track written by Broudie in collaboration with
Manic Street Preachers bassist
Nicky Wire. "Touch and Go" and "Like You Do" are quoted by Broudie as being placed 'in a line' with "
The Life of Riley" and "Pure" as being semi-autobiographical, which he cites along with a number of other songs from previous albums as feeling like 'one big song' to him. "Like You Do" would provide the title of the band's 1997 greatest hits compilation though the song did not appear on the collection itself. The album closes with "Fishes on the Line" which contains lyrics bordering on the surreal and an anthemic guitar
outro. ==Release and reception==