The Shining", "Getting Away with It (All Messed Up)" and "Alaskan Pipeline" were engineered by James Loughrey. A year after its release, it occurred to Booth that the song was about his son, whose middle name was Daniel, and his goddaughter Grace. Getting Away with It (All Messed Up)" was released as a single on 25 June, [29] after being delayed a week from its original release date.

Space" begins as a Radiohead-esque track with an electro intro before shifting into chorus sections in the vein of Simple Minds. Vocalist Tim Booth left the band after their December UK tour; the final show of which was released as the Getting Away with It. Most of the finished album was made up from live takes and demos that were made before recording with Eno. Getting Away with It (All Messed Up)" was released as a single in late June, followed a week later by Pleased to Meet You on 2 July through Mercury Records. What Is It Good For" was engineered by Pettit and mixed by him, James and Bascombe at House in the Woods and Whitfield.English Beefcake" stars a man who ends relationships, while being hesitant in causing pain as a result of them. Andrew Paine of NME considered it the "best James record in a long while and there are some near-inspirational moments. On 29 October, Booth announced he would be leaving the band after their current tour engagements, with the band aiming to continue recording. He’s been christened James, obviously, and will appear on the sleeve of the forthcoming album, Pleased To Meet You.

Though the band had planned to use a different producer for the main sessions, [3] Eno and guitarist/violinist Saul Davies were enlisted to produce most of the recordings. The following month, the band revealed they were in the process of recording with Brian Eno, [4] doing pre-production.Getting Away with It (All Messed Up)" premiered on BBC Radio 1 on 18 May 2001; the band appeared on Later. Throughout July and September, the band performed at the T in the Park, Guildford Live, City in the Park, [30] Witnness, [35] Benicàssim, and Annual Youth Music festivals, across the UK, Spain and Portugal.

He added that the album had an underlying theme of distaste for "habits, addictions, [and] impulses that we can't control. The Shining", "Senorita", "Gaudi", "What Is It Good For" and "Getting Away with It (All Messed Up)" were recorded at House in the Woods in Bletchingley. On 19 June, Dotmusic revealed the album's artwork, which is a computer-generated image that merged all of the members' faces. The remainder of the tracks were credited to different producers: "Falling Down" by Eno and KK; "The Shining", "Give It Away" and "Getting Away with It (All Messed Up)" by James and Eno; "Gaudi" by James and Baynton-Power; "What Is It Good For" by James; "Fine" by James, Eno and KK; and "Alaskan Pipeline" by James.

Playlouder's Sarah Bee considered it a "more low-key" affair that was "less brash" than Millionaires. Eno likened the process to when artists make their debut record: "they're full of enthusiasm and excitement and they know what they're doing and it's a pleasure. He expanded: "It's their tightest, freshest, most contemporary batch of songs, weatherproofed to stand the test of time. This is about finding a way to represent our collective spirit,” says James frontman Tim Booth, discussing the band’s curious new figurehead.