The album was recorded at Church Studios in Crouch End, London, with Mercury Prize-winning producer Marta Salogni and Grace Banks at the helm, alongside long-time collaborator Dan Carey, who has worked with the band on their previous two releases. Cowards also features contributions from an impressive array of musicians, including Danish experimental artist Clarissa Connelly, composer Tony Njoku, Pozi’s Rosa Brook, percussionist Zands Duggan, and the Ruisi Quartet, who contribute violin, viola, and cello to the album’s intricate arrangements.

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In support of Cowards, Squid will embark on an extensive UK tour beginning in February 2025, with the first date in Liverpool on February 17. The band will perform across the UK in cities including Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle, and Sheffield, before concluding the run with a highly anticipated show at London’s Roundhouse on April 26. Tickets for the tour are available now here, and fans can expect a live set featuring new material alongside fan favourites from Bright Green Field and O Monolith.

 

 

 

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The album announcement follows a special one-off intimate show in New York City on November 12, where the band previewed several tracks from Cowards live for the first time. This included ‘Crispy Skin’, the album’s lead single, which has already been released in anticipation of the full album. Squid treated the packed crowd at DROM to a mix of new material, including the unreleased tracks Building 650 and Cro-Magnon Man, giving fans a glimpse into the darker, more experimental direction of Cowards.

Crispy Skin was released ahead of the album to introduce listeners to the dystopian themes that permeate Cowards. Lyrically inspired by Agustina Bazterrica’s novel Tender Is The Flesh, the track imagines a world where cannibalism is the societal norm. Lead singer Ollie Judge said to NME that ” the reality of having a moral-compass in dystopian stories of desperation and horror would be extremely difficult”. The single’s release was accompanied by a music video directed by Takashi Ito, which adapts his 1995 experimental short film Zone, distilling the unsettling tone of the song with stark, surreal imagery.

With Cowards, Squid continue the thematic exploration which has made their name, offering a more expansive and complex vision compared to their previous sound which incorporated crunchy krautrock guitar and David Byrne-inspired vocals. The record builds on the artistic risk-taking of O Monolith while venturing into new sonic territories, incorporating elements of avant-garde, jazz, and electronic music into their ever-evolving style. Pre-order here Cowards now, and catch Squid live across the UK early next year.

In a statement on his website, Gabriel announced: 

“After a years-worth of full moon releases, I’m very happy to see all these new songs back together on the good ship i/o and ready for their journey out into the world.”

With “full moon releases”, the former Genesis frontman is referring to his unconventional album roll-out plan, which involved releasing a new single on the occasion of every full moon in 2023. On top of that, Gabriel gave fans the option between “bright” and “dark” side mixes of the respective songs.  

Listen to the “bright-side” version of the upcoming album’s title track:

The majority of i/o was recorded at Real World Studios in Bath, England and Gabriel’s home studio. Furthermore, a plethora of musicians and producers contributed to the record, including longtime collaborators Brian Eno, guitarist David Rhodes, bassist Tony Levin and drummer Manu Katché. The Soweto Gospel Choir, Swedish all-male choir Oprhei Drängar and the New Blood Orchestra also feature.

A press release on Gabriel’s official website details the upcoming LP’s concept and themes as follows: 

“Throughout the album the intelligent and thoughtful – often thought-provoking – songs tackle life and the universe. Our connection to the world around us […] is a recurring motif, but so too the passing of time, mortality and grief, alongside such themes as injustice, surveillance and the roots of terrorism.“ 

“But this is not a solemn record. While reflective, the mood is never despondent; i/o is musically adventurous, often joyous and ultimately full of hope […]”

Listen to the “dark-side” mix of Gabriel’s most recent single “This Is Home”:

To complement these themes, and building upon an idea initially developed in his Us and Up albums, Gabriel has invited a host of visual artists to create a piece of art to accompany each of the twelve songs on the new record – be it through painting, photography, sculpture or even plasticine. The dozen artists include Ai Weiwei, Olafur Eliasson and perhaps more surprisingly, Nick Cave.

Meanwhile, Gabriel still has a few more dates left on his North American tour which ends on October 21, but so far, he hasn’t made any plans to retire from recording or touring.

Pre-order i/o here.

Did someone say “encore” ? Here’s a few extra Pulp shows for the current UK tour … Manchester @castlefieldbowl on 4 July, and London @EventimApollo on 28 & 29 July. Tickets on sale next Friday, 2 June 2023, at 9am. https://t.co/ibqY28EUWr pic.twitter.com/e9KLAyXzAB

— Pulp (@welovepulp) May 26, 2023

What looks set to be a busy summer for the band, Pulp have added three significant dates to their return tour in news that will surely delight fans. The band will play at the sizeable venue, Castlefield Bowl in Manchester on 4 July and two nights at the more intimate Eventim Apollo Hammersmith on 28 and 29 July in London.

The summer touring run, which will include numerous festival appearances in between, marks the second time in Pulp’s storied history that the band has gathered to reunite since 2001. Guitarist and lead vocalist Jarvis Cocker teased fans last summer with Instagram posts suggesting something big was on the way from the band, before announcing a reunion tour for summer 2023. The band last released new material in 2001, with album We Love Life entering into the UK top ten official charts.

Formed in Sheffield in 1978, Pulp received critical claim and popularity in the early to mid 90s particularly with their massively successful album Different Class, which earned the band four top ten singles including smash hit “Common People”. It was during this prolific period that the band became reluctant idols of the Britpop scene along with Oasis, Blur and Suede.

With creative and personal differences cited, Pulp seemingly called it quits in 2001, only for the band to return ten years later to perform a run of festivals in 2011. After hints of new music to be released, Cocker announced that the band would once again be calling it a day, performing for the last time in February 2013.

Earlier this year, influential bassist Steve Mackey died after a three month stay in hospital. Mackey joined the band in 1989 and was featured on all of Pulp’s most successful run of albums-helping the band to embrace a more pop oriented sound that would make them one of the biggest UK bands of the 90’s era.

Fans of Pulp were understandably excited when the band announced they would be reuniting for a second time-a run of UK headlining shows the perfect remedy to years without the group on the touring circuit. After announcing Pulp would be returning in October, tickets for shows quickly sold out-prompting the band to add the three extra shows to their already packed summer.

Tickets for the new concerts will go on sale at 9am on Friday 2 June and can be found here. 

Pulp UK Reunion Tour:

26/05/2023 – Bridlington Spa Centre – Bridlington*
01/07/2023 – Finsbury Park – London*
04/07/2023 – Castlefield Bowl – Manchester
09/07/2023 – Scarborough Open Air Theatre – Scarborough*
07-09/07/2023 – Glasgow Green – Glasgow
12/07/2023 – Cardiff International Arena – Cardiff*
14/07/2023 – Utilita Arena Sheffield – Sheffield*
15/07/2023 – Utilita Arena Sheffield – Sheffield*
20-23/07/2023 – Lattitude Festival – Henham Park, Southwold*
28/07/2023 – Eventim Apollo Hammersmith – London
29/07/2023 – Eventim Apollo Hammersmith – London

*Sold Out

The video’s release was followed by a live Q&A with Higgs on YouTube. Higgs commented on the creation of the video, “At this point I’d learned texturing, modelling, rigging, animating, how virtual cameras and lights work, so the path to creating ‘Supernormal’ was a matter of putting it all together, alongside some new experiments in physics simulations.” He added that “The idea was to make dozens of tiny, explosive shots of action, ugly and extreme naked characters being distorted, surreal objects and animals, over-saturated colours, bright lights; all these impossible, grotesque images coming at you far too fast to comprehend. I adjusted and experimented until I saw things that excited or disgusted me, then repeated the process over and over again until I was satisfied.” The jam-packed video is certainly a mind-bender, as previous videos from the band are prone to being.

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Higgs explained the inspiration for the song that was written back in 2020 during the composition of Re-Animator. “Supernormal is about supernormal stimuli; highly exaggerated triggers that create a stronger reaction in us than evolution ever intended.” He continued: “Our animal brains can’t help but reach for the bigger, brighter, tastier, sexier, bloodier, more intense experiences. I wanted to create an extremely overwhelming experience in this song and video, it’s about being a slave to our instincts no matter how extreme they become.” The release of Supernormal comes as Everything Everything announce their rescheduled UK & Ireland tour dates for 2022.

We were gutted to have to reschedule our UK & Ireland tour dates due to covid, but are delighted to announce these dates for spring 2022. Tickets are on sale now, and original tickets will be valid.

All other shows – https://t.co/4a9nFOmNsp

Dublin – https://t.co/KOlAqjX8Ku pic.twitter.com/EchHLcHlXs

— EverythingEverything (@E_E_) March 11, 2021

Everything Everything 2022 Tour Dates

30/3/22 – Tramshed –  Cardiff

31/3 –  Rock City – Nottingham

1/4 – O2 Academy – Leeds

2/4 – Newcastle University – Newcastle

4/4 – SWG3 Galvanisers – Glasgow

5/4 – O2 Academy –  Liverpool

7/4 – Waterfront –  Norwich

8/4 – Manchester Academy – Manchester

9/4 – O2 Academy –  Birmingham

11/4 – O2 Academy –  Bristol

12/4 – Brighton Dome – Brighton

13/4 – The Roundhouse – London

16 /4 – O2 Academy – Dublin

 Tickets for the original tour dates remain valid. Tickets available to buy here