‘GODSPEED’ IS OUT NOW. GVxhttps://t.co/GWKhDeNmUB pic.twitter.com/14yWAl3W4o

— Glasvegas (@glasvegas) April 2, 2021

The Glaswegian outfit have drip-fed singles from the new album over the course of the last seven months, beginning with Keep Me A Space. That track – a melodic slice of gritty shoegaze pop – suggested the group were ready to reinvest in the powerful, Spector-esque sound that fuelled the success of their superb 2008 debut LP Glasvegas: a record which sold over 300,000 copies in the UK and spawned some of the decade’s most memorable indie-pop fist-pumpers in Daddy’s Gone and Geraldine.

Keep Me A Space was followed by further singles releases in My Body Is A Glasshouse (A Thousand Stones Ago) – a repackaged version of a pulsating Glasvegas ballad that had been in the ether since 2014 – the grunge-tinged Dying To Live, and darkly atmospheric spoken-word track Shake the Cage (Für Theo). Whilst there have been some notable stylistic differences between the new songs, the band’s trademark fuzzy, wall-of-sound guitar sound  – and frontman James Allan’s signature impassioned, wailing vocals – have remained constant features.

The new record teeters towards concept album territory, with Allan envisioning the eleven tracks as a stream of consciousness narrative chronicling the events of a single murky Clydeside evening. In an interview with NME last year, he said: “The character basically leaves the house at the beginning of the album and starts to drive somewhere. The character’s always inside the car but there’s parts of that drive that are like a daydream, not reminiscent but the way you are when you’re out driving somewhere, your thoughts can jump from one place to the next, and then you’ll maybe notice something that has a memory in real time.”

In an interview with the Daily Record, Allan said he felt compelled to finish the record – even if others had given up hope on it ever springing to life. He said “Songwriters like me are over-dramatic people who think the world is dependent on them fixing what is out of balance. And until you’ve finished the circle everything is a mess. I feel different now it’s finished.”

Last month Allan also provided the soundtrack to Lorraine Kelly-helmed documentary Return To Dunblane, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the murder of sixteen pupils and a teacher at Dunblane Primary School near Stirling – the deadliest mass shooting in British history. The singer-songwriter spoke in depth to The Guardian about the sombre process of composing music to convey the horror and sadness of one of Scotland’s darkest hours.

The tracklisting for Glasvegas’ new album Godspeed is as follows:

1. Parked Car (Exterior)
2. Dive
3. Dying to Live
4. Shake the Cage (Für Theo)
5. Keep Me a Space
6. Parked Car (Interior)
7. Cupid’s Dark Disco
8. My Body Is a Glasshouse (A Thousand Stones Ago)
9. In My Mirror
10. Stay Lit
11. Godspeed

The lyrics reflect that message clearly, with dark imagery alluding to drug use and a heightened sense of existential dread: “My spirit, my entity, my hopes, my breathing, my dreams are leaving/ While my needle is gently weeping/ Floating two steps forward and one step back/My dénouement closing in on black…/The tearjerker, the swan song is nigh/Wish you could see me blowing this kiss/ Don’t forget about me, don’t remember me like this.”

Sonically Dying To Live flirts with Americana and even grunge – not genres you’d tend associate with the Glaswegian outfit – although there are still strong traces of the fuzzy, wall-of-sound guitar sound that the band harnessed so successfully in the late noughties; as well as a typically heartfelt, wailing vocal from frontman James Allan.

Godspeed is the group’s first LP since 2013’s Later…When the TV Turns to Static – to date the only Glasvegas record not to reach the UK top 10. The first two single releases from the new album – soaring pop-rock number Keep Me A Space and pulsating ballad My Body Is A Glasshouse (A Thousand Stones Ago) – channel the intense, melodic feel of the band’s superb 2008 debut Glasvegas which was so memorably encapsulated on singles like Geraldine and Daddy’s Gone. Thirteen years on from that record, the Glasvegas sound – which blends the post-punk distortion of fellow Scots The Jesus and Mary Chain with warmly nostalgic echoes of early 60s pop – is still instantly recognisable; as are James Allan’s impassioned Clydeside vocal stylings.

Allan has suggested that the new LP – whilst not strictly a concept album – was envisioned as a series of streams of thought which occur to the narrator over an evening of recollection and yearning. He told NME: “The picture I imagined was that all the songs were set on one night. I wrote a couple of songs and then thought that’s maybe the way this album is supposed to be. The character basically leaves the house at the beginning of the album and starts to drive somewhere. The character’s always inside the car but there’s parts of that drive that are like a daydream, not reminiscent but the way you are when you’re out driving somewhere, your thoughts can jump from one place to the next, and then you’ll maybe notice something that has a memory in real time.”

Glasvegas had been due to take the new album on the road this spring, with thirteen dates around the UK pencilled in for April and May, culminating in a homecoming gig at the Galvanizers Rooms in Glasgow. However, due to the ongoing uncertainty caused by the pandemic, the group announced this week that they would be pushing the shows back to early 2022, with all existing ticket purchases remaining valid.

A statement published on the Glasvegas Twitter account this Monday read: “We were really hoping (the tour) could go ahead but until gatherings are allowed and can be done safely for our fans and crew we simply cannot proceed. We know that this will be disappointing, especially after all the love and support you have shown us. There is nothing that can replace playing live on stage for us, it’s our life blood and we miss it desperately.“

Dear friends, ‘My Body Is A Glasshouse (A Thousand Stones Ago)’ is out now! GVxhttps://t.co/WzLzx7EWpf pic.twitter.com/bKnzAEIsSV

— Glasvegas (@glasvegas) December 4, 2020

Glasvegas first burst onto the scene with their eponymous 2008 debut album, which went on to sell over 300,000 copies in the UK. Their lyrics – rooted in gritty Glaswegian realism – were a breath of fresh air in the midst of an increasingly middle-class UK indie scene in the late noughties; while their unique sound – honed to perfection on classic numbers like Daddy’s Gone and Geraldine – blended the post-punk distortion of compatriots The Jesus and Mary Chain with a Spector-esque ‘wall of sound’ drenched in fuzzy nostalgia for 60s’ rock and soul.

Their subsequent albums – 2011’s Euphoric Heartbreak and 2013’s Later…When the TV Turns to Static – helped sustain the band’s dedicated cult following without replicating the commercial success of their first LP. Their fourth record Godspeed is due to hit shelves on April 2nd 2021, with the first single from the album – the melodic Keep Me A Space – enjoying a warm reception from fans on its release in August.

In a statement released on the band’s Instagram account in the summer, frontman James Allan posted a sweet letter to fans apologising for the long wait for new Glasvegas music. He said “It’s been 7 years since we released new music so, yeah, I guess an explanation why is overdue. I made the decision to record, engineer and produce our latest album free of any outside assistance, which for the bands momentum maybe didn’t seem like the safest path or on paper the most logical idea. But I couldn’t help listening to where my heart was telling me to go…All this aside, I’m sorry it took this long. All along the way I wished I could’ve done it faster and gave myself a hard time for not being able to. So now I am in a good flow – the place I hoped this would lead and I want to thank you for being patient.”

Allan also told NME that a narrative thread will run through Godspeed, which covers the events of a single night. He explains: “The character basically leaves the house at the beginning of the album and starts to drive somewhere. The character’s always inside the car but there’s parts of that drive that are like a daydream, not reminiscent but the way you are when you’re out driving somewhere, your thoughts can jump from one place to the next, and then you’ll maybe notice something that has a memory in real time.”

Glasvegas are due to take the new album on a fourteen-date tour next spring, culminating in a homecoming gig at Glasgow’s Galvanizers Rooms on May 28th. The full list of dates is as follows:

15/04/2021 –  Picturedrome – Holmfirth
16/04 –  Warehouse – Leeds
17/04 – O2 Academy 2 – Liverpool
18/04 – Asylum – Birmingham
20/04 – Garage – London
21/04 – Chalk – Brighton
23/04 – Sub89 – Reading
24/04 – Thekla – Bristol
25/04 – Rescue Rooms -Nottingham
27/04 – Gorilla – Manchester
28/04 – Foundry – Sheffield
29/04 – University, Students Union – Newcastle
28/05 – SWG3 Galvanizers Rooms – Glasgow

Over 30 acts are set to take the stage at the Somerset extravaganza, which festival organisers have promised will be “a long-weekend escape of music and mayhem“. The running order has yet to be finalised, but attendees can expect sets from much-loved Newport rap iconoclasts Goldie Lookin’ Chain; Joy Division and New Order bassist Peter Hook with his band The Light; Liverpool outfit Cast; Leeds indie five-piece The Pigeon Detectives; Hounslow Britpoppers The Bluetones; and shoegaze favourites The Boo Radleys (performing as Sice Boo and the Radleys).

The Boo Radleys will effectively be reuniting for the gig – albeit without original guitarist and songwriter Martin Carr – having split in 1999. The Wirral band, whose third LP Wake Up! topped the UK albums charts in 1995, will be led under their new moniker by singer Simon ‘Sice’ Rowbottom.

Goldie Lookin Chain (GLC)’s appearance will follow the Welsh hip-hop troupe’s delayed 20th anniversary tour, which finishes with a homecoming gig at Newport Centre on Saturday 21st June 2021. The group have kept busy during lockdown, recently recording a pandemic-related Christmas song and taking aim at conspiracists who deny the existence of the virus with the Green Day-inspired diss track Covidiot.

In an unexpected turn, GLC stalwart Adam Hussain is also taking on judging duties for Gwent’s Got Talent, an online talent competition in aid of St David’s Hospice. Speaking about his new role to the South Wales Argus, Hussain took a light-hearted swipe at another well-known talent show judge, saying:  “I’m always interested in what local talent we have in Gwent and believe in supporting our home-grown future stars. Amanda Holden does it regularly and I don’t really know what she did to qualify for the position apart from going out with Les Dennis.”

GLC’s compatriots Feeder will also be relishing an opportunity to return to the stage in 2021, having been forced to postpone the remaining tour dates to showcase their acclaimed 2019 album Tallulah. During the lockdown the band released a new video to accompany the now-iconic homemade promo for their 2001 hit Just A Day; with Just A Day 2 raising funds for PPE equipment for the NHS.

Fellow Shiine On headliners Glasvegas’ set should feature songs from their upcoming fourth album Godspeed, which is due out next April. Band frontman James Allan has suggested that the new record, their first in seven years, follows a narrative outline.

He recently told NME “The picture I imagined was that all the songs were set on one night. I wrote a couple of songs and then thought that’s maybe the way this album is supposed to be. The character basically leaves the house at the beginning of the album and starts to drive somewhere. The character’s always inside the car but there’s parts of that drive that are like a daydream, not reminiscent but the way you are when you’re out driving somewhere, your thoughts can jump from one place to the next, and then you’ll maybe notice something that has a memory in real time.”

Tickets for the 2021 Shiiine On Weekender are available now on the festival website.

.@CreationDayFest line-up announced! #GigTickets on sale Friday 23 October at 10am. https://t.co/nvEUXuo6CN pic.twitter.com/ULyCDzWvUe

— Get To The front (@gettothefront) October 16, 2020

Happy Mondays and Echo and the Bunnymen head up the bill on the first day of the festival (Saturday 29th May); which will also feature sets from Echobelly, Merseyside rockers Cast and Kirkcaldy four-piece Shambolics. Day Two (Sunday 30th May) is headed up by Editors, who scored noughties hits with Munich and Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors; Friendly Fires; Ash and Glasvegas.

Glasvegas’ set will coincide with the release of their upcoming fourth studio album Godspeed. The Scottish outfit, who burst onto the scene in 2008 with their Phil Spector-influenced debut album Glasvegas, dropped their latest single Keep Me A Space in August. The rousing track returns the band to the melodic ‘wall of sound’ feel which powered their excellent early singles Geraldine and Daddy’s Gone.

Other acts featuring on Day Two of the festival include indie rockers Sleeper, who reformed in 2017 after a nineteen year hiatus; Leeds veterans The Wedding Present; and Anglo-Italian alt-rock four-piece Cat FX, who have been hailed by Clash Magazine as a “rebel force… continually championing the underdog“.

The Creation Day Festival website promises a two-day event that “…testifies to a trailblazing history and a vibrant future…the ultimate celebration of all things Creation, as orchestrated by the man, the myth and the legend behind it all.” The man in question, Alan McGee – who famously helped launch the careers of Super Furry Animals, Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine, Teenage Fanclub and Oasis during his tenure at Creation Records – has recently spoken of his disenchantment with the modern music scene.

In an interview with NME, he said “You’ve got to accept that the music industry and media don’t want young, punky indie rock n’ roll bands. They just don’t. That makes it easier for me, as the quality I’m signing up is incredible. I don’t know if it will ever change, because the culture is just so different now. There are other people doing great stuff… I don’t know if there’s a happy ending for the industry if it stops putting out records by hungry indie punk rock ‘n’ roll bands. But I’m not trying to change anything, I’m just doing it because I like doing it.”

McGee – who has stated that he wants the Creation Day Festival to become an annual event – will hope that his new summer showcase can demonstrate that the British indie scene still has plenty left in the tank. Tickets for the Creation Day Festival are available online from 23rd October at www.ticketmaster.co.uk/creation-day