FRANK TURNER’S NEW SINGLE “LETTERS” OUT NOW
NEW ALBUM UNDEFEATED TO BE RELEASED ON MAY 3 VIA XTRA MILE RECORDINGS
Frank Turner releases a brand new single “Letters”, the latest track following “Girl From The Record Shop”, “No Thank You For The Music” and “Do One” to be taken from his tenth album Undefeated, out May 3rd via Xtra Mile Recordings. On the single he says, “‘Letters’ is a song that I’ve been working on for a long time; in some ways I’ve been writing it since a genuine pen-friendship of mine dried up when I was a kid, when the mix-tapes stopped coming through the post. It’s a song about communication and its breakdown, about nostalgia for teenage romance, and about how reassessing those things as an adult can be the start of a healing process.”
“Now I’m surprised to report that as I enter my forties, I’ve returned to being an angry man,” he sings on the recent track “No Thank You For The Music”. And that’s a concise statement as to what to expect from Undefeated, Frank’s follow-up to his first UK #1 album, 2022’s FTHC. Finding the sweet spot between youthful outspokenness and surviving midlife’s challenges, it’s a record that explores both emotionally compelling topics and lighter reflections on those troubles that eventually come to most of us. Who you are versus who you wanted to be in your youth; life-altering love; fading friendships; wistful nostalgia; the mental fallout and political consequences that still linger from the pandemic era; and the more prosaic issue of persistent backache.
Frank says, “There are no clichés about the difficult 10th album, so in some ways, that’s a liberating statement. But at the same time, I have a duty to justify writing and releasing a 10th album. That’s a lot of records for anybody. Also, I’m 42. Which is not a sexy, rock’n’roll age. But all through my career, I’ve been interested in writers like Loudon Wainwright III or The Hold Steady, people who write about adulthood, essentially.”
While thematically Undefeated is informed by this time in life, sonically it’s full of echoes to influences that Frank has touched upon at various moments in his kaleidoscopic career. It switches from Black Flag to Counting Crows, from Descendents to The Pogues, via Elvis Costello and Billy Bragg. Its freewheeling nature is reflective not only of his new-found independence, but also of the creative environment he found himself in. As usual, it was entirely written by himself, but this is the first album that he produced himself, recorded in the home studio that he and his wife, Jessica Guise, share on Mersea Island, Essex. It features his live band: Ben Lloyd (guitar), Tarrant Anderson (bass), Callum Green (drums) and Matt Nasir (piano).
The release of Undefeated will of course see this punk-rock road-warrior tour with the tenacity and intense schedules that he’s renowned for (such as the sprawling 50 States in 50 Days North American tour) but with even bigger ambitions that will be revealed in due course as he nears his 3000th (!) gig. But for now, anticipate the new album: a typically energising, literate, playful and provocative set from a musician who remains Undefeated after a quarter-of-a-century in the game.
Undefeated is now available to pre-order HERE.
Frank Turner’s award-winning festival, Lost Evenings, is coming to Canada for the first time on September 19-22, 2024 for its seventh instalment.
Having successfully sold out events in previous years in London, Berlin, Boston and Anaheim, California – the four-day festival will take place at the brand new Theatre at the Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto. Promoted by Live Nation, the multi-stage event will occupy many rooms of the new venue providing a full programme of live music, panels, workshops and more.
Tickets for Lost Evenings VII are available HERE
Tour Dates
Thursday, September 19: Acoustic Duo Set with Matt Nasir + Henry Rollins Spoken Word + Martha Wainwright
Friday, September 20: Losing Days – The First Five Albums + NOBRO + Northcote
Saturday, September 21: Hard Core – New Album ‘Undefeated’ & Punk Rock Set + The Dirty Nil + The OBGMS
Sunday, September 22: Greatest Hits + Bedouin Soundclash + Murder By Death
Artist Links
Photo Credit: Shannon Shumaker
SPILL FEATURE: FRANK TURNER TALKS UNDEFEATED, LOST EVENINGS AND WORLD RECORD ATTEMPTS – A CONVERSATION WITH SINGER/SONGWRITER FRANK TURNER
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: FRANK TURNER – UNDEFEATED
SPILL NEWS: FRANK TURNER’S NEW TRACK “GIRL FROM THE RECORD SHOP” OUT NOW | NEW ALBUM ‘UNDEFEATED’ TO BE RELEASED ON MAY 3
SPILL NEWS: FRANK TURNER’S NEW ALBUM ‘UNDEFEATED’ TO BE RELEASED MAY 3 VIA XTRA MILE RECORDINGS | NEW SINGLE “DO ONE” OUT NOW
