Down to three members by the following year, the band founded Che records with Cheree's Nick Allport to release their own material. Their debut single was described as "just about the most breathtaking, far-reaching record you'll hear this year", and the album that followed, "Open Doors, Closed Windows" , was equally well-received. Despite this, the band felt the need to develop away from the limited sound textures of guitar, bass, and drums. The compilation album "In Debt" marked the end of that first stage, as the band turned towards technology.

1992's Cheree single "Summer's Last Sound" was the transitional moment. A haunting collage of fractured melodies, the single incorporated birdsong, shimmering arpeggios and half-forgotten voices to breathtaking effect. It was a Melody Maker single of the week, and the band capitalized on the single's success with a series of impressive live shows.

Progress was impeded by the collapse of Cheree in 1993. Despite being at a creative peak, the band were unable to record of perform until Rough Trade stepped in. The deal enabled the release of the single "A Rock To Cling To" which demonstrated their genuinely ground-breaking new material to an appreciative phalanx of writers and fans. The following single, "The Last Dance" , was a melodic fusion of dew-drop rhythms and stratospheric harmonics which become the band's third single of the week.