Boston Manor announce that their fourth studio album ‘Datura’ will be released on 14th October via SharpTone Records. The burgeoning British rock act has also released a new single ‘Passenger,’ which introduces the record’s nighttime aesthetic with the kind of intense and unrestrained burst of an anthemic chorus for which the band has become known in recent years. It’s a song that’s both hopeful and energetic but also on the verge of emotional collapse. Boston Manor will be touring Europe with Alexisonfire in October – check out the dates at the bottom of the press release.
Says guitarist Mike Cunniff of the new song’s process: “It’s really one of our favorite songs on the record. We’ve been jamming it in rehearsals a little bit and it just works so well live. It was a very stripped-back approach to writing as well. We didn’t want to put too much stuff in it, which kind of leaves us feeling a little bit vulnerable and naked onstage, when there’s not too many things going on. It was the last song we wrote and recorded for the record, the final piece of the puzzle.”
‘Datura,’ which is introduced by somewhat of a title track ‘Datura (Dusk)’ – revealed by the band in video form last week, pushes the limits and stretches the boundaries of Boston Manor more than ever before, musically, lyrically, thematically and conceptually. 2018’s ‘Welcome To The Neighbourhood’ and 2020’s ‘Glue’ shifted the needle in terms of Boston Manor’s sound, incorporating synths into their framework and a heavy focus on atmosphere. Coming off the back of last year’s ‘Desperate Times, Desperate Pleasures’ EP, ‘Datura’ takes all that one step further.
The first of two parts, this set of songs exists in the dim light between dusk and dawn. It’s a record you don’t just merely listen to, but one – from the moment the sinister opening strains of the first song ‘Datura (Dusk)’ begin – you actually inhabit and experience. It’s a record that envelops you, drags you into the dark shadows, leaves you cold, breathless, paranoid. The mood you’ve just been submerged in is inspired by vocalist Henry Cox drinking too much during the height of the pandemic and the dark nights and darker mornings that followed.
The new album was recorded in Brixton with Larry Hibbitt, the Hundred Reasons guitarist/vocalist-turned-producer. “We didn’t really do any writing for almost all of 2020,” says Mike Cunniff, “and that gave us a bit of a reset. Through working with Larry, we found what we felt was the most concentrated essence of Boston Manor. The EP was the perfect jumping off point, and we wanted to carry on doing more of that. It feels a lot more refined – we wanted fewer songs so that we could be a lot more intentional.”
“I want people to connect with the themes of this album,” shares singer Henry Cox. “Not so much in terms of it being so specific to me – although I hope they appreciate the vulnerability in it – but with the view that they can project their own life story onto it. At its core, this is an album about somebody struggling to get control of their life and pull themselves up. I think a lot of people can relate to that, especially in the times that we’re living in at the moment. So as much as I was writing about my problems, I hope people can find solace in it.”
‘Datura’ tracklist:
1. Datura (Dusk)
2. Floodlights On The Square
3. Foxglove
4. Passenger
5. Crocus
6. Shelter From The Rain
7. Inertia
Boston Manor exploded back onto the returning live music scene in 2021 with powerful sets at Download Pilot, Reading & Leeds, and Slam Dunk Festivals, as well as a tour as main support to Neck Deep in North America. The band have hit the ground touring in 2022 with a sold-out UK headline tour in February, hitting Brixton Electric in London, and a headline stint in North America. They were also the main support to Neck Deep in Europe in between playing at numerous European and UK festivals this summer including Rock Am Ring and Download, with 2000Trees being the culmination of a busy run. Boston Manor will be on tour with Alexisonfire on their UK and European tour this Fall.
October 24th – Trix – Antwerp, Belgium
October 26th – Columbiahalle – Berlin, Germany
October 27th – Tonhalle – Munich, Germany
October 29th – Ziltphilharmonie – Hamburg, Germany
October 31st – Palladium – Cologne, Germany
November 1st – Tivoli – Utrecht, Netherlands