"popular mechanics" appeared on i (label)/ché trading in 1997, a debut album which the press variously described as "ethereal electro pop atmospheric soundscapes" or "simply delighting in... making silly noises" and which the band thought of as "small beat, pre-chip... radiophonics". it included vocals by hazel burfitt and raechel leigh but, with rance having quit the band, combined two previous single releases with a set of new recordings by johnson and chennell.