By Stan Cierlitsky
Boy, does life just fly by! I still remember how blown away I was the first time I heard "The Only One I Know" by The Charlatans way back in 1990. It almost felt like a new form of music was being born, and even though The Charlatans were just a part of the Madchester scene to me, they were the godfathers. And looking back at my life, The Charlatans were always with me. My wife and I first started dating when the Charlatans' debut came out, and now 30+ years later we are still together, and so are they!
So, with that, I am excited to say that The Charlatans have returned with their 14th album, We Are Love. Out October 31, it's produced by heavyweights Dev Hynes (Blood Orange, Lightspeed Champion), Fred Macpherson (Spector), and the great Stephen Street.
The first single "We Are Love" came out way back on July 14. It's a celebratory return, and frontman Tim Burgess describes it as "like an open-top car ride in the credits of your favorite movie, driving along the coast to somewhere amazing." And I just love it! It's a real testament to The Charlatans that they continue to be great while many of their Madchester contemporaries have failed to keep it going. "We Are Love" is just a great single that I am sure will be part of their setlists for years to come.
Overall, the album will sometimes take you back in time and sometimes show you a new side. I guess that's probably difficult after 14 albums, but trust me it happens. For those take me back moments, none hits harder than "Deeper and Deeper" here on We are Love. It feels like it was recorded during the self-titled era, but also seems like they were trying to recapture what they were doing on their debut album. You will most likely see this track on my year-end Best of list. "For The Girls" is another track that takes me back as well. It feels a little like material from the Up to Our Hips (1994) years, and I'm betting will also be a setlist staple.
As for stuff which shows a new side, "Salt Water" is a great example. It's a slow song with samples of people enjoying the beach. Even though it's not lifted from the recent Tim Burgess solo album Typical Music, it certainly has a similar vibe. It also reminds me a little of Super Furry Animals. Elsewhere, "You Can't Push the River" might be a better example of a new sound for Charlatans. This one is a rolling song which builds and uses soulful background singers.
If you've been a fan as long as me you're gonna have fun trying to compare each song to different eras from the last three decades of the Charlatans' career. I am still struggling with "Many a Day a Heartache", another gem here. It's another favorite of mine from the record. But at the end of the day, this is a great album that stands perfectly on its own amongst their other 13 albums.
We are Love from The Charlatans is out on Friday, October 31. Details here.
[Photo: Cat Stevens]