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The Charlatans UK have released their 14th studio album, We Are Love, today. An eight-year gap between albums is the longest ever for one of the UK’s most enduring bands. A combination of covid, solo projects, life’s complexities and the fact that its five members - Tim Burgess (vocals) Martin Blunt (bass), Mark Collins (guitar), Tony Rogers (keyboards) and Pete Salisbury (drums) - live scattered across Europe, meant that it took longer than usual for the stars to align at the right place, right time, right vibe. They took the time to carefully select a recording A-team of production duo Dev Hynes (aka Blood Orange and Lightspeed Champion) and Fred Macpherson (Spector, Rachel Chinouriri, Jessica Winter, Taahliah), plus legendary producer Stephen Street (The Smiths, Blur, The Cranberries), alongside a list of engineers, mixers and collaborators that reads like a who’s who of alt rock greatness. The result has been well worth the wait.
PURCHASE/STREAM WE ARE LOVE
Recorded at two places that are totemic in The Charlatans UK's history - Rockfield in Wales and their own Big Mushroom space in Middlewich, Cheshire - Burgess cites hauntology and psychogeography as two concepts that swirled in his head as the band dug into the album making. For one thing, their return to storied farm studio Rockfield for the first time in almost 30 years, since they made their fifth album Tellin’ Stories, was an important step. As a band, they hadn’t been there since keyboard player Rob Collins was killed, in the middle of that album’s sessions, in a car crash at the bottom of the track leading to the farm. Throughout the record, you can hear The Charlatans UK's awareness of the stuff that’s made them – the highs and the lows; the desire to honor their own mighty legacy, whilst not being defined by it; a career-long drive to be progressive and innovative.
“The whole idea of hauntology and psychogeography is represented by us going back to Rockfield, where so much history has happened for The Charlatans," says Burgess. "That was important as a way of honoring every member who's played in the band. So we’re honouring ourselves, our past, feeling that energy and reincarnating it, doing something fresh, brand new.”
We Are Love was initially heralded with the release of the title track for its first single during the summer. "We Are Love" is a celebratory statement of intent, an urgent, limber, clattering love song to the human race. Propelled forward by driving drums and anthemic guitar, frontman Tim Burgess describes it as "like an open-top car ride in the credits of your favorite movie, driving along the coast to somewhere amazing." The band recently appeared on Later...with Jools Holland to perform "We Are Love."
One of the first tracks to emerge as they were writing, it became a pathfinder for the record, as guitarist Mark Collins explains: "Early on, we thought it felt right. And it turned out that way: first single, title track, second song on the album. And things started forming around 'We Are Love.' There was a certain energy to it that drove us forward.”
The release of the second single, "Deeper and Deeper," followed shortly thereafter. A swirling, Hammond organ-driven belter with fat bass and fuzzy guitars, "Deeper and Deeper" channels the band’s trademark psychedelic grooves while charting bold new territory. It’s further proof that The Charlatans UK's commitment to moving forward, even in their fourth decade together, remains as strong as ever.
Tim Burgess says, “It kicks in with a sense of immediacy. It’s Altered States meets Pincher Martin. "The Hammond organ leads the way and hands you over to the irresistible and relentless bassline – a sense of giving in to what surrounds you. Sometimes it’s where you should be going. But you only get the answer once you can’t turn back.”
LISTEN TO "WE ARE LOVE"
LISTEN TO "DEEPER AND DEEPER"
WATCH THE CHARLATANS UK PERFORM "WE ARE LOVE" ON LATER...WITH JOOLS HOLLAND
One of the best-loved UK bands of the last four decades, The Charlatans UK's career spans 13 albums, 22 Top 40 UK singles, three Number One UK albums and era-defining anthems like "The Only One I Know," "North Country Boy" and "One to Another" – We Are Love launches a bold new era, one that finds them at peace with their past whilse looking forward to a bright future.
THE CHARLATANS UK
WE ARE LOVE
(BMG)
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