Finally, it's here. Sure, we waited 17 years to hear the album that was insanely rejected by a record company back in 1992. But the last few days have been the worst. Long, long days where, at times, we questioned whether we ever even liked pop music at all. But now it's here. And we're listening to it. And we�re about to make big, gushing fools of ourselves with some useless words.

On first listen, Prefab Sprout’s ‘Let’s Change The World With Music’ is already better than almost anything we can think of. Which isn’t to say we recommend it to everyone. Like Kevin Rowland’s wrongly maligned covers album, this is a record for people who completely ‘get’ what’s unique, amazing, gifted and a little bit unhinged about Paddy McAloon. Out of context we imagine it might be a little too heart-on-sleeve, raw and unabashed for comfort.

The overt early 90s sound is jarring at first. These are the demos of a work that was probably intended to be lush, orchestral and expansive. Yet here its synthesized and contained (though as gorgeous as you’d hope). But despite the obvious date stamp, Paddy’s voice is still one of the most luxurious sounds that’s ever come from a throat. The unfashionably God-centric and lofty nature of the lyrics (that got the album rejected in the first place) are entirely suited to a writer who’s never sounded like they had their feet on the ground. And they’re as welcome as a cold cathedral on a sweaty day, amidst the banalities and mundanities of modern pop’s concerns.

You want an example?

“I don’t have the slipper she’s waiting to wear… Music is a princess, I’m just a boy in rags.”

If there weren’t people watching we’d allow ourselves a good cry over that one. Straight to the heart there, Paddy. Gosh.

That anyone, in any age, would write a song called ‘Earth: The Story So Far’ is remarkable. That it’s as successful as any song about everything ever could hope to be leaves us speechless.

We hope this isn’t the last we hear from what must be one of the most extraordinary archives of lost music in existence. But if it is, Paddy McAloon can be sure that ‘Let’s Change The World With Music’ is the love letter to art he intended it to be. And we’d just be greedy to ask for more.

P.S. To give you an idea of the kind of record this is, the sleevenotes feature an essay from Paddy about the Beach Boys 'Smile' album. Exactly.