Check out the new song below:

Following a period of collaboration with Eddie Vedder, Cat Power and his old band The Frames, Hansard rediscovered the raw power of distorted guitars and group chemistry, a revelation which directly informed the songwriting and recording on his new album. Early last year, when the record was still in the early stages of conception, the singer explained:

“I’m kind of going back to stuff I thought I’d left behind. Big electric guitars. It’s actually more in the area of The Frames. I’ve just missed playing with a band so much over the past two years. It’s still raw as hell right now. It’s all one take, straight band stuff. I was touring with a big band for a long while, but now I’ve gone right back to bass, drums, guitar and piano. And I’m loving it. There’s always that classic irony, where the less people you have, the bigger it can sound – because you’re listening to every note, and every note means something.”

All That Was East Is West Of Me Now, however, only truly began taking shape through a series of word-of-moth gigs Hansard arranged at a small local pub in late 2022. Believing that songs only become what they are in the presence of an audience, the singer took to the stage to present new material and unfinished ideas, which ultimately helped piece the new record together.

In a press release, Hansard elaborates: “I told no one. We set up in the corner and played to the locals, some of whom were only half listening. A collection of farmers and workers, dart players, pool sharks. I played two hours of new songs each week, some songs finished, some half-baked. Through this process I realized what I had and what I had to work on further – which songs landed and which ones were only good in my imagination. It solidified my choices right away. It was as if the album appeared in that bar. And not before.”

While the album sees Hansard reconnect with his musical roots, the title, which the singer says stems from the “sudden realisation that there’s more behind than ahead”, also suggests a lyrically reflective body of work.

Pre-order All That Was East Is West Of Me Now here.

Catch Glen Hansard on tour:

30/10/2023 – The London Palladium – London
31/10 – RNCM Theatre – Manchester
13/12 – Vicar Street – Dublin
15/12 – Leisureland – Galway
16/12 – St. Columb’s Hall – Derry
18/12 – Ulster Hall – Belfast
19/12 – City Hall – Cork

Tickets available here.

The stretch has been announced as “The Battered Songbook Tour” and, by the looks of things, will be lead by a unique whirlwind of an experience featuring the singers all time classics of his renowned bands, The Libertines and The Babyshambles, alongside a selection of his best hand picked tunes as a solo artist.

The forthcoming journey will be starting on the 13th of April in the rock staging venue Limelight, in Belfast. Following, afterwards, through Dublin, Cork, Glasgow, Stockton, Newcastle, Lancaster, Hull, Norwich, Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol, Falmouth, Oxford, Sheffield, Birmingham and majestically finalise in the big smoke London, playing in the Royal Albert Hall on the 5th May.

Having been gifted with a Doherty tour this spring, as much as many may assume, the tour will not be accompanied by any new releases from the 43-year-old singer, especially having released The Fantasy Life Of Peter And Crime just last year. This does not mean, however, that he has not been entertained with a handful of other projects. As a matter of fact, his time has been consumed by the writing of a fresh new album with The Libertines.

Doherty explains in an interview with NME “We pencilled in a writing session [in Jamaica]”. Which they, effectively, perpetrated last September with some seemingly positive outcomes having nailed down a selection of juicy demos, described as a “different energy” by the band members. They very ambitiously considered the release to land at the end of December last year. Clearly, they stand corrected.

The last time Pete Doherty was on tour doesn’t sit too far away. Last year, he performed his way through Europe and the UK with the french composer Frédéric Lo, with whom he collaboratively released the album The Fantasy Life Of Peter And Crime in March, 2022. It was a touching episode for him as he’d accomplished sobriety since 2019 and having become a newlywed man, the ethos of both the album and tour turned out to be quite the elevating one.

Here, the indie star comes forward with another UK deliverance of his cherished sounds. Tickets go on sale on the Friday, 24th of February at 10am.

Click here for ticket purchase on said date.

UK Tour:

13/04/2023 – Limelight 2 – Belfast
14/04 – Opium – Dublin
15/04 – Cyprus Avenue – Cork
18/04 – Galvanizers SWG3 – Glasgow
19/04 – KU Stockton – Stockton-On-Tees
21/04 – Riverside Newcastle – Newcastle upon Tyne
22/04 – Kanteena – Lancaster
23/04 – The Welly Club – Hull
24/04 – Waterfront – Norwich
26/04 – O2 Ritz Manchester – Manchester
27/04 – The Church – Anfield
29/04 – O2 Academy – Bristol
30/04 – Princess Pavilion – Falmouth
02/05 – O2 Academy – Oxford
03/05 – O2 Academy – Sheffield
04/05 – O2 Institute – Birmingham
05/05 – Royal Albert Hall – London