Richard Ashcroft, lead singer with Brit rock band The Verve, has announced details of his new album and he's also chopped off his trademark locks for a more mod look.
These People, which is 44-year-old Ashcroft's fourth solo effort, will be released on May 20 and deals with war, revolution and death.
Ashcroft, who was known as "Mad Richard" around the time of THe Verve's first dawning in the early nineties and for whom Noel Gallagher wrote the Oasis song Cast No Shadow, has released a statement explaining the album's political themes.
"Some personal and world events take a darker turn, leading to a sense of urgency and a clearing of the mind." he said.
The new album tackles the war in Syria, the Arab Spring, and the death of one of Ashcroft's close friends.
In his statement, he said: "To do nothing would be a crime in this sick nihilistic age of war".
Ashcroft also told the NME: "Over the period I wrote this we’ve lived through incredible times. Highly contentious wars were going into the pot. There were grassroots movements that were then turning into semi-revolutions, there was Tahrir Square.
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— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) February 22, 2016
"There was everything kicking off all over the globe, people being divided. Pepper spray everywhere, tear gas . . . We’re in a very nihilistic age, we’re in death-ridden, world war times and I like to reflect the society we’re in but I also wanna possibly project something that gives us a sense of hope."
Recorded in London, These People was produced by Ashcroft and longtime collaborator Chris Potter. It also marks the Verve man's reunion with Wil Malone, who worked on the string arrangements on Verve albums A Northern Soul (1995), Urban Hymns (1997), and Ashcroft's debut solo album Alone with Everybody in 2000.
Richard said of his new album:
The first single from the album, This Is How It Feels, is now available with pre-orders of the album on digital outlets.
The full tracklisting for These People is: Out Of My Body, This Is How It Feels, They Don’t Own Me, Hold On, These People, Everybody Needs Somebody To Hurt, Picture Of You, Black Lines, Ain’t The Future So Bright, Songs Of Experience
