With a career that has already spanned two decades, The Charlatans - Martin Blunt (bass), Jon Brookes (drums), Tim Burgess (vocals), Mark Collins (guitar) and Tony Rogers (keyboards) - release their new album ‘Who We Touch’ on September 6th 2010 through Cooking Vinyl. A 2 CD limited edition package, including exclusive early versions of tracks and additional tracks that never made it onto the album will also be available.
Their eleventh studio album, ‘Who We Touch’ was produced by Youth (Paul McCartney, Primal Scream and The Verve) and was recorded at Britannia Row in London, on the same desk that saw the creation of New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’. Featuring eleven tracks, the album must surely rank as their boldest to date, radically broadening their aesthetic remit. It is, says Burgess, “a soulful voyage”, a journey through moods uplifting and profound, dark and delirious and ultimately concluding in blissful optimism. Its sound is inspired by many heroes, yet always sounds like no-one other than The Charlatans themselves.
Album opener, ‘Love Is Ending’ is the first single to be taken from the album and is available on August 2nd on limited edition 7” vinyl. The Horrors have also done a remix of the track which will be exclusively available through itunes.
The video to ‘Love is Ending’ was directed by The Jesus & Mary Chain’s Douglas Hart, who wanted something very simple yet visually striking to compliment the energy of the track. The ballet dancer/choreographer Aisling Cook was selected due to her influences, style and understanding of Michael Clarke’s work, who is famous for his unique and pioneering style of contemporary ballet with a 'punk' edge whilst maintaining the fluidity and grace of classical ballet.
Further into the album ‘Oh!’ is a beautiful song of reconciliation, as complex as its shifting time signatures. ‘You Can Swim’, an exquisite ooze of ambience, reminiscent of ‘Another Green World’-era Eno, with whose creative ideas the album began. Lurking at the end of the album is hidden track ‘I Sing The Body Eclectic’ featuring Crass’s Penny Rimbauld on vocals. Gee Vaucher who did the iconic artwork for all of Crass’s releases, also provides ‘Who We Touch’ with it’s eerie collaged cover image.
The full tracklisting is:
1. Love Is Ending
2. My foolish Pride
3. Your Pure Soul
4. Smash The System
5. Intimacy
6. Sincerity
7. Trust In Desire
8. When I Wonder
9. Oh!
10. You Can Swim
The Charlatans play the following shows in October:
5th Hatfield, The Forum
7th Newcastle, O2 Academy
8th Edinburgh, HMV Picture House
9th Dundee, Fat Sam’s Live
11th Liverpool, O2 Academy
12th Nottingham, Rock City
14th Leeds, O2 Academy
15th Sheffield, O2 Academy
16th Manchester, Apollo
18th Oxford, O2 Academy
19th Bristol, O2 Academy
21st Norwich, UEA
22nd London, O2 Academy Brixton
23rd Birmingham, O2 Academy
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