Adrian Crowley, long distance letter

An odd package awaited me on my return to work this morning - a large parcel containing a copy of Adrian Crowley's excellent, Choice Music Prize nominated "Long Distance Swimmer" album - an album I had already bought when it came out last year. Might I also just add that when I bought it (I always prefer buying albums by Irish artists), it didn't have a cd booklet. Anyway, I didn't mind. Don't judge an album by the sleevenotes and all that. The album itself was all that mattered, and having become an Adrian Crowley fan many years ago after I found myself talked into attending an underpopulated TBMC gig, it didn't disappoint. I had already heard a bit on his myspace and I knew it was going to be good. Little did I realise it would be his best to date. So, on the road home I listened to it, and all that weekend I listened to it. Even after that first full listen I knew I would be adding it to a certain list I was compiling at the time. When I got to work the following Monday and checked my post I was pleasantly surprised to find another copy of "Long Distance Swimmer" waiting for me in an envelope, especially considering as I had gone out over the weekend to pick up a couple of copies to give to friends and the brother abroad.

But today's copy - the second one posted to me in three months remember? - was baffling to say the least. It was there in a strange looking envelope with nothing else in it, just the cd. No note. No slip. No paper. No biog. No press release. No sticker even. Maybe I'm hard to pin down, but the envelope also appeared to have been written by two different people. One handwriter had carefully written my name with a flourish, whilst the other wrote my work address in bonkers joined up writing that could only have come from the pen of a lady.

So, has the album be re-released? Or are Adrian's people doing a regional round-up? Or did they forget they had done one already? Still, at least there was a booklet with this one...