The first release on EMI was a free 7" release featuring a cover of the Fat Larry's Band song Zoom which was given away at the Regal Recordings Christmas party. However, the band had already recorded the "A Word in Your Ear" (originally set to be called "Get Alfie") album for Twisted Nerve who owned the rights to the recording, and wouldn't be released until March 2002. The band were fine with promoting the album for a label they had already left, but complained that again they would have preferred to have played more gigs but that the label were unable or unwilling to finance it. Commenting further on the restrictions of the band's former label, Gorton revealed that they never had enough time in the studio to record material, that the band's first two albums "definitely felt unfinished really" and that previous EP releases were vinyl only due to production costs. To make ends meet whilst signed to Twisted Nerve, Gorton ran a market stall in Manchester which members of the band also worked on.