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"A Closer Communion" was recorded and mixed at Priority Studios, Sheffield, between September and October 1996. It was engineered and produced by Stephen Singleton (a founder member of ABC) and David Lewin.

The CD was high-end mastered and pressed in January 1997 at Sound Recording Technology in St. Ives, Cambridge.

The album was released independently on February 11, 1997, at a hometown show at Sheffield's Epitaph club night.

The twelve tracks that comprise "A Closer Communion" are as follows:

Esclaviditud, My Beautiful Sustenance, Painted Whiter Than White, The Ephemeral Bed Of Fire, Dies Irae, Drowning In The Dark, The Smile Of The Martyr, Desires Of The Lonely, Fragility Of Self (No Siren Eyes These), Epilogue (Non Credo), Gothic People, Painted Whiter Than White (Whitewash).

The main themes of "A Closer Communion" are love-lost and loneliness, with the title being taken from a phrase in a Joseph Conrad novel, "Victory". It refers to people sharing their innermost feelings. The lyrics of the album are very close to our hearts, being concerned primarily with the ending of relationships and the ensuing loneliness such heartbreak brings. Thus, we are entering into a "closer communion" with the listener.

In general, our lyrics are about events that are personally relevant, that we need to sing about in order to understand them better. The songs are quite a cathartic experience and are based on things that have happened to us, augmented by a touch of poetic licence. We wish to express personal feelings that are often difficult to understand or come to terms with- our songs are a way of working out our feelings and releasing any negative energy via the creative process.

A collection of predominantly upbeat songs, featuring guitars and synthesisers in equal part, "A Closer Communion" spawned the worldwide club hit, "Gothic People". This album was acclaimed by critics and voted joint best album of 1997 by the readers of uk.people.gothic. Songs from the CD have featured on a number of compilations and have received radio and club play throughout the world.

Reviewers have likened the band's sound to that of Rosetta Stone, Sex Gang Children, Danse Society, and Virgin Prunes.

Vocals on the album are shared by all three band members as follows:

• "My Beautiful Sustenance"- Jamie.
• "Painted Whiter Than White" and "The Ephemeral Bed Of Fire"- Peter.
• "Dies Irae"- Jamie.
• "Drowning In The Dark", "Smile Of The Martyr", "Desires Of The Lonely", "Fragility Of Self (No Siren Eyes These)", "Epilogue (Non Credo)"- Peter.
• "Gothic People"- Darren.
• "Painted Whiter Than White (Whitewash)"- Peter.

Backing vocals were provided by Jamie and Peter.

"Gothic People" required the permission of Pulp's Jarvis Cocker for inclusion on the album, to whom we are very grateful. Children's television's The Teletubbies were denied permission to release their own version of "Common People". It would appear from this that Goth has more credibility than the Teletubbies!

How did "Gothic People" come about? The story is that Darren and Pete (both of whom are Pulp fans) accepted a dare from a friend to do "Common People" when they were drunk after a gig in Leeds. Unfortunately they can't verify this story! Darren ad libbed the "Gothic People" lyrics on the third occasion we played the song live, in Sheffield supporting Midnight Configuration.