When it comes to science fiction the Americans have always been at the forefront. Just look at 70’s TV shows like Battle Star Galactica or Space 1999, awash with spectacular costumes and special effects. Whereas C-list actors populated the British equivalents, sellotaping a plastic eye to their forehead whilst trying to stop the scenery wobbling. But scratch beneath the surface and it’s often the case that what us Brits may have lacked in razzle-dazzle we more than made up for in ideas, characters and concepts. Will this sci-fi themed second album from Derbyshire’s To My Boy have learnt any lessons from the past about how to portray the future?

Choosing to break away from their hectic Chock-a-Block kids-on-too-many-smarties debut they return with a slightly more grown-up record. One themed around the impending doom of planet Earth, due to its position within the cosmos slipping out of The Habitable Zone. It paints a future where steam and steel have been favoured over silicone and streaming. Where a scientist holds the key to life and death. This is their suburban Soft Bulletin.

At first it might all seem a little cheesy, even the cover looks like it was sketched on the back of a sixth formers lever arch file. But if you can get past all of this tacky bunting there is an album underneath intent on rescuing your heart from an intergalactic overlord.

Like the geeks and nerds you see on the bus every morning, once you stop hiding their briefcase and get to know them you’ll find plenty to love behind the anorak. Highlights include ‘Antarctica’ – a heartfelt love-song to the chilliest of continents featuring gentle vocals and amicable synth-pop production. ‘Overlord’ also delivers the goods, its sorrow filled outpouring is invaded by the sounds of too many ten pence pieces poured into arcade machines. Plus there’s plenty more where those two came from.

Whilst this might not be everyone’s flask of weak lemon drink, it would be a crime to let an album so inventive and clearly infused with love to slip into a black hole of obscurity.