[ad_1]
THE THE, some of the acclaimed and cherished bands of the previous couple of a long time, have introduced particulars of a new studio album, Ensoulment.
Launched on 6 September 2024, this 12-song LP will embody attribute matters starting from love and intercourse, warfare and politics, life and dying.
Written, demoed and combined at Studio Cinéola in London, the bottom of THE THE’s principal inventive power, Matt Johnson, is joined by long-standing members James Eller (bass), DC Collard (keyboards), Earl Harvin (drums), and Barrie Cadogan (lead guitar), and marks the return of co-producer and engineer Warne Livesey (Contaminated and Thoughts Bomb 1989).
Cognitive Dissident, launched digitally on 17 Might, is the primary single from the album and was written by Matt Johnson and Barrie Cadogan. The only will even be accessible as a restricted version 7″ that includes a beforehand unreleased B-side on 7 June. Hear beneath:
Distinctive Type
Through the years, THE THE’s releases have developed a definite aesthetic type, which in no small half owes to the art work of Matt Johnson’s late brother Andrew (AKA artist Andy Canine).
Ensoulment proudly options a few of Andrew’s beforehand unpublished works on the quilt, within the exquisitely designed 32-page booklet for the vinyl and CD codecs, in addition to on the covers of all singles.
THE THE was fashioned by Johnson in 1979 and launched simply 5 studio albums of authentic songs – Soul Mining (1983), Contaminated (1986), Thoughts Bomb (1989), Nightfall (1993) and NakedSelf (2000).
THE THE have additionally made diversions into cowl albums, resembling Hanky Panky; movie soundtracks together with Hyena, Tony, Muscle and Moonbug; artwork installations; numerous guide publications, together with biography Lengthy Shadows, Excessive Hopes: The Life and Instances of Matt Johnson & THE THE; and an exquisite and shifting 84-minute documentary, The Inertia Variations.
Johnson’s prolonged absence was partly defined in his 2017 multimedia mission, The Inertia Variations, which took inspiration from British poet John Tottenham’s 2005 guide of the identical title – significantly the concept of “brooding, abstraction and evasion” getting in the best way of the inventive course of – leading to a feature-length documentary and the Radio Cinéola Trilogy triple album field set.
Love & Laughter
On the finish of The Inertia Variations documentary, Johnson was filmed performing a brand new tune reside in his studio. We Can’t Cease What’s Coming is an elegy to his elder brother Andrew (AKA artist Andy Canine), who handed away in 2016. “It was not a straightforward tune to put in writing,” he says. “That was the primary time I’d sung in a few years. I loved it however discovered it very emotional.”
The expertise prompted Johnson to revive THE THE as a reside band. Sadly, COVID delayed the discharge of the accompanying reside movie and album till 2021 – it additionally hampered work on Ensoulment. As an alternative THE THE launched a collection of seven” inch singles: We Can’t Cease What’s Coming was adopted by I WANT 2 B U (2020) and $1 ONE VOTE! (2023).
Ensoulment accommodates echoes of THE THE’s multi-faceted musical previous, nevertheless it’s richly consultant of the mercurial band’s right here and now. Johnson is characteristically unafraid to deal with the emotional complexity inherent within the human situation – intimacy in an age of alienation; democracy in a post-truth age; empire and vassalage; and the inexorable rise of AI – but the album is equally shot via with hope.
“It’s important to be hopeful,” Johnson states. “And I hope individuals get out of the album what we put into it. It was created underneath very glad circumstances, with a fantastic vibe amongst the band and all of the those that labored on it. There was a variety of thought, a variety of work, a variety of love, a variety of laughter!”
Ensoulment Tracklisting
Cognitive Dissident
Some Days I Drink My Espresso By The Grave Of William Blake
Zen & The Artwork Of Relationship
Kissing The Ring Of POTUS
Life After Life
I Need To Wake Up With You
Down By The Frozen River
Risin’ Above The Want
Linoleum Easy To The Stockinged Foot
The place Do We Go When We Die?
I Hope You Keep in mind (the issues I can’t overlook)
A Wet Day In Might
The album will probably be accessible in retail as restricted CD Hardcover Mediabook, CD Jewelcase, Black 2LP Gatefold and restricted Crystal Clear 2LP Gatefold. Additional unique codecs will probably be accessible within the official album retailer.
Ensoulment may be pre-ordered from 17 Might. Click on right here
THE THE additionally just lately introduced one other world tour. Commencing in September 2024 it’s the band’s first since 2018.
The preliminary UK run is now bought out and an additional London present at Brixton Academy on 1 October has been added. For ticket info click on right here
For extra Traditional Pop, enroll and obtain our weekly e-newsletter
[ad_2]
