Sandwich assembly.

Having spent a month hunched over dropbox, listening to Cari and Umi sing at me from my laptop speakers and hoping it would all sort of fit in real life, trepidation would best describe my approach to Tuesday's rehearsal at which band and actors were, for the first time, placed in the same room and told to get on with it.

But I don't know. Maybe I'm a sucker for a nice tune. Or maybe I have a terrible ear for music. Or maybe The Stantons just make a genuinely lovely sound.

But I thought there was something a little bit magic about our sandwich.

It's a tribute of course to Neil and Cari in particular who managed to dart, apparently effortlessly, between singing and acting. And a tribute from both band and actors to the age-old art of making it up as you go along. Particularly where the writer / director had wildly cut cue lines without bothering to inform the band.

But the songs all appeared to slide very neatly into the gaps between our slim scenes. It's a sad little tale and the lovely wistful maybe even a little bit haunting quality of this particular set of Stantons songs is the most beautiful complement. But then maybe that's because the story came from the songs so you shouldn't expect anything other.

In short, with just under four weeks to go, I think we have a fine little album launch on our hands. Just need to knuckle down now and make sure we do it justice.