THE WILDHEARTS frontman Ginger has checked in from the studio with the following update:

"Tension rears it's taunting, ugly little head as stress threatens to infect the final 5 days of recording.

Yesterday was a dead day (hence no blog) with no-one at the studio and very little to do.

Highpoints were very sparse, containing themselves within a few morsels of pleasure, like listening to Imani Coppola's Black & White, The Jayhawks The Sound Of Lies and Little Hell's Demonic Advisory Centre (all truly awesome listens), and Scott teaching me how to shotgun beer. I realised I'd never done it before, and thought it was a bit over rated, to be honest, although Scott and CJ went to bed laughing like air raid sirens.

Although my experience didn't scale the frat-boy thrills of my co-hosts I'm glad I didn't wake with the hangover they have today.

We're concentrating on finishing all the guitars today. And when I say concentrating, I mean tongue out and furrowed brow like a little kid determined to writing their name correctly for the first time.

'All That Zen' is up first. We have some basic backing tracks laid down, but it's lacking the groove that the song needs to breathe. Stripping down a song is quite a chore, but not as awful as trying to make slightly incorrect backing tracks work. Man, the time I've spent in my life working for hours with a guitar or bass track that is never going to work. Going back to scratch eventually saves you a big chunk of your life.

The camel got castrated yesterday. Poor guy was humping (sic) anything from bales of hay to the shetland pony it shares the enclosure with. Strange thing was I took an afternoon nap, right about the time when he was getting snipped, and had strange dream where an overzealous fan was violently grabbing my bollocks. Could get them to leave go. It was agony.

Wonder if the camel and I touched base somehow? I certainly felt for the poor guy the entire day.

Anyway, he's fine today. A little wobbly on his feet but in good spirits.

Getting excited about seeing my family again.

I allow myself the luxury of missing them for the first few days and last few days. Need to get into work mode between those periods. You can't make an album being constantly homesick. It's no good for morale and it's certainly no good for performance.

Only have to hold on until Friday when we will be reunited.

The sense that we are in a timeless void has vanished and has been replaced by an overwhelming sense of hope.

Working on a song now called 'Mazel Tov Cocktail', which has a very Stonesy feel to it, classic and timeless. At least I think so. Not sure the rest of the band are as into it as I am. That's what makes this album recording so unique to us, there are some songs I'm less fond of than others, as are there for everyone. Anyway, CJ thinks it sounds like Kings Of Leon, which is a good sign as he likes King Of Leon.

Me? I'm just glad I'm in a band that can sound like Primal Scream one second, Kings Of Leon another, and NYC hardcore the next. And still have time for some Dark Side Of The Moon hugeness, Pixies weirdness, and the occasional bit of Cheap Trick meets The Clash.

Who else sounds like that?

It might be that our style is too confusing for the average consumer, and that we will sacrifice commercial gain to remain thrilled in the music we record. Still, we wouldn't (couldn't) have it any other way.

To be hugely successful and have to pull yourself back from experimentation would be massively depressing.

Now if, on the other hand, we could have both, what a wonderful life that would be!

I think it's always wise to live the life you want to live. Or at least try your damnedest.

Ignore societal pressures and matters of the ego.

Be the person that you want to be, no matter how far away that seems, or how scary a move that would be.

Fear only regret not failure.

Who knows? It might all work out!

Ginger."