 Drowned in Sound 's Joseph Stannard has noted that " Europa and the Pirate Twins " is written with World War II as a strong influence , and that the song " emphasises the short distance between [ Dolby 's ] generation and the one which endured the last global conflict " . Dolby has described the song , along with the tone of the album , as reflecting " a sense of [ a ] relationship that 's going on as being overwhelmed by something on a grander level " , adding that " there 's a very strong wartime atmosphere to it " . The song was described as " a semi @-@ autobiographical romp " in the liner notes for Dolby 's 2009 greatest hits album The Singular Thomas Dolby , the release of which was overseen by the singer . " Europa and the Pirate Twins " received a " sequel " on Dolby 's 1992 album Astronauts & Heretics , in the song " Eastern Bloc " ; which has been described by Audio magazine as " appealingly faithful " to the original . 
