you sooner or later get labels, managers and PR people emailing you offering untold riches in the form of promos and such opportunities. Sometimes it's a vague query about the possibility of a phone interview with Candie Payne (thank you, Deltasound), but more often than not it's lovely free records, like what proper journalists get. In the last few months I've amassed a decent number of advance CDs and a welter of fine mp3s to enjoy at leisure and pass details of onto my grateful reader(s). I have both a proper and unmastered copy of Backlash Cop, just because I said some nice things about the Young Playthings. There's the Future Of The Left debut single promo, an iLiKETRAiNS single well in advance, Electrelane's album with stickers, Napoleon IIIrd in zipped up mp3 form. All very good.

Today I received a mysterious parcel via airmail which contained a CD in a blank case covered by a compliment slip from an American media company which gave nothing away bar that there may be more information ahead. Not even a fulsome press release. This must be special. Maybe it's a soft launch of the album that'll blow the 2007 competition away, or something really special that's crept under the wire and into a PR nation's hearts. For them to send it to a willing blogger blind must mean they have absolute faith in their product.

It's the Calvin Harris album.