As the title suggests, the album is the result of duo Brad B Wood and Conrad Astley marrying luscious acoustic loveliness with all the wonders of the electronic age.And the marriage, as a host of reviewers and radio DJs have already noticed, is certainly a happy one, with tracks taken from it having already caught the attention of good people everywhere.

American magazine Losing Today wrote: “Merchandise’s sound is stolen from sunny days serenely idling in the shade, with the gentle trickling sound of a nearby river for company and the colourful magnificence of England ’s green quilted garden for a spectacular visual feast.”

Gill Rickson from SBN Radio more prosaically commented that the band’s sound was “like someone got hold of the Kings of Convenience and made them cut up a Rae and Christian album.”

Beautiful Morning for a Bad Day and 14:53 are two of the stand-out tracks which have been turning reviewers’ heads. These gorgeous pop songs see acoustic guitar riffs bouncing out of the speakers alongside lolloping drum loops, pristine piano motifs and Brad’s understated vocals.

Elsewhere the band ask the question “Who says a lo-fi whimsical duo can’t play rock?” on tracks like two-and-a-half minute bruiser Sunday Song and psychedelic burn-out Charlie Parker was a Hobo.

The mournful piano balladry of Distil Disappointment and The Last Stand of Pucho Vasquez provide other surprises as does the wondrous stark warmth of Winter.

Give Lo-tech Solutions a listen and you will surely agree with Tasty Fanzine that this is “Fantastic pop music.”

Two sides of dark, restless electronica mark Merchandise’s 1996 10” debut release as different from the rest.

A-side Two Minutes After creates a brooding soundscape with overtones of Joy Division and Bark Psychosis.

B-side Microcosm introduces a more dub inspired sound with hypnotic moog melodies suggesting the likes of Orbital.

Anyone looking for an antidote to the day-time TV friendly easy listening musak of recent years should look no further.

Swallowing Curses is Merchandise’s follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut album, This is… Merchandise.

The single continues the Bolton based duo’s exploration into uncharted sonic territory but also shows evidence of their growing ability to produce perfect pop moments guaranteed to catch the ear of the unexpecting listener.

Merchandise’s trademark sound is put to uplifting effect on Swallowing Curses which has flavours of bands such as The Flaming Lips and Pavement.

Swallowing Curses also contains memorable lyrics penned by travelling writer and band collaborator Roger Williams, describing the unadulterated joy of emerging from the mists of depression and looking out on a cloudless sky.

Not satisfied with the usual band policy of releasing second rate material to fill in the gaps Merchandise have backed the single with Terracotta Caterpillar, an enthralling cocktail of sound which melds hypnotic folk-inspired melodies with hi-tech funk a la Squarepusher and Aphex Twin.

Both tracks pave the way for their up coming second album, now being lovingly honed at Cityscape Studios and due for release in 2004.

The boys’ first album, from 2000, had an eclectic sound encapsulating trashy punk, oddball electronica and 70s Miles Davis style instrumentals.

The album blends live instruments with analogue and digital technology to create tracks such as the offbeat funk of Shooting Jenny, the whimsical lo-fi pop beauty of Unmapped Streets and the punky electro of album opener, New Resurrection.

Elsewhere tracks such as, Books, Black Russian and Zebedee suggest influences from the likes of Stereolab, Aphex Twin and New Order.

The album gained critical acclaim from Manchester cultural bible CITYlife (review below) and also received attention from national glossy Q.

Lovers of invention and idiosyncrasy could do far worse than explore this lost gem.