“We’re honouring ourselves, our past, feeling that energy and reincarnating it, doing something fresh, brand new” - Tim Burgess
The Charlatans have revealed details of their 14th studio album, We Are Love.
The announcement comes accompanied by the album’s first offering, title track We Are Love, which the band debuted live this month at a landmark show at Castlefield Bowl.
Lead single, 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 favourite movie driving along the coast to somewhere amazing.”
One of the first tracks to emerge from the album, 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 forwards.”
Listen below:
Right Place, Right Time
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.
Recorded at two places that are totemic in The Charlatans’ 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 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’ awareness of the stuff that’s made them – the highs and the lows; the desire to honour their own mighty legacy, whilst not being defined by it. A career-long drive to be progressive and innovative.
Honouring Band’s Past
Tim Burgess explains: “The whole idea of hauntology and psychogeography is represented by us going back to Rockfield, where so much history has happened for The Charlatans. That was important as a way of honouring 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.”
This introspection brought home the fact that love is the glue that has held The Charlatans together for so long, and that’s reflected in the 11 tracks that make up this forward-thinking, future-facing album.
Tracklisting
Kingdom of Ours
We Are Love
Many A Day A Heartache
For The Girls
You Can’t Push The River
Deeper and Deeper
Appetite
Salt Water
Out On Our Own
Glad You Grabbed Me
Now Everything
The Charlatans UK Tour
Alongside the album announcement, The Charlatans have also shared plans for a December UK tour, playing headline shows in Leeds, Stoke, Bath, London, Manchester and Glasgow. Tickets go on general sale at 10am BST on Friday 18 July.
6 December – Leeds, O2 Academy
7 December – Stoke, Victoria Hall
8 December – Bath, Forum
10 December – London, Roundhouse
11 December – Manchester, Academy
12 December – Glasgow, Barrowland
We Are Love is out 31 October via BMG. Pre-order here
Featured image credit: Cat Stevens
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