Oh, that there were more bands like Wild Card: no frills, funk fuelled fun played with integrity and a passionate, nay, evangelical feel for jazz. And that core trio also have some hot pals: Baptiste lends thumping tenor to the stomp and drive of ‘Better Remorse Than Regret’, Glasser's classy harmonica lights up the Gallic swing of the gentler tempo of ‘Risky Business’, while the London Horns, notably Flowers' fine trumpet, crop up everywhere. The band also have a canny eye for a cover, with Mary Pearce's vox illuminating the Stones' ‘Paint It Black’ in unexpected tones, while a funked up, brass heavy ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ is a wild card indeed. Flowers' horn flung against Alloway's as ever irresistible drums is among Life Stories many highlights. Throw in a climactic mass funk jam on ‘Maybe… maybe not’ and the world suddenly seems a sunnier place.