Having previously self-released their material, the band were snapped up by
Warners American A&R man Perry Watts-Russel. "A few people caught the SXSW
show and started spreading the word," explained Owen Hopkin of The Crimea.
"It was ironic inasmuch as we left the stage thinking we'd blown it with one
of the worst gigs of our career.

"By the time we got to New York to play two gigs there was a bit of an A&R
scrum going on among the American labels. We met a few people while we were
there and realised there were two clear front-runners - one of which was
Perry Watts-Russel and Warner Brothers.

"The decision really came down to choosing the deal that lets us get on with
making and playing music. Perry knew where we were coming from and, having
held out this long, we wanted the machinery that could get the album to as
many people as possible. Our main 'territory' is America - which is a bit
mad - but we'll be released over here through East West, which was another
bonus. We really liked [East West's] Korda Marshall and knew he was a fan
from a previous meeting. Needless to say, we're absolutely stoked and have
been on a monumental bender since we signed a few days ago."

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