Just when you thought The Montgolfier Brothers couldn't become even more poignantly sad, they seem to have gone one step further. 'Journey's End' may only be an EP and a taster for their new album but the title track is another defining moment for them. Not a second is wasted of its eight minute length as Mark Tranmer's fluid piano keys create the Nyman-esque backdrop, only matched in the melancholic stakes by Roger Quigley's wounded vocals reflecting on life and love - never have the words "We've not here long, and then you're gone" been used so effectively. In comparison, 'Bridestones Revisited' verges on the incidental but Tranmer's ear for quintessential Englishness is reminiscent of classic kitchen sink drama. Of the final two tracks, 'Koffee Pot Brass' may have plenty of warmth (courtesy of the Mytholmroyd Colliery Band) but the more simplistically arranged 'Koffee Pot Blues' distills the magic of The Montgolfier Brothers to perfection.

The CD also includes two videos/slideshows; one for 'Journey's End' which shows both the old and the new of the Salford area whilst 'Operation Laff' offers a photo album of the band on tour accompanied by a jolly seaside instrumental. This reveals the humorous side to the band but the lasting impression is that no one captures that very English sense of loneliness quite like the Montgolfier Brothers do.