Frank Turner will release his next studio album on 7 August 2015 through Xtra Mile Recordings and Polydor Records. Positive Songs For Negative People is the singer-songwriter’s sixth album and the follow-up to 2013’s critically-acclaimed Tape Deck Heart. It was made with his trusted backing band The Sleeping Souls and produced by Butch Walker in Nashville. “I feel like this record is my definitive statement, a summation of the first five records,” says Frank.
The first taste of the album is the single ‘The Next Storm’ which is available as an instant download for fans who preorder the album on iTunes. The video for ‘The Next Storm’ features Turner in the boxing ring with CM Punk, the longest-reigning WWE Champion of the modern era. Watch it here:
It has been an eventful decade for the troubadour from Winchester who now resides in Holloway, North London. Turner released his debut album, Sleep Is For The Week, in 2007 and has been on a glorious upward curve ever since. He is now one of the country’s most cherished songwriters, a man who plays the biggest venues in the land and whose records reach the higher echelons of the charts but who has never lost sight of his original MO: write, record, tour, repeat.
As he turned his attention towards his sixth album at the tail-end of 2014, Turner thought back to his debut. “When a band makes a debut record, there’s a freshness and excitement to it that bands often lose as time goes by,” he says. “I wanted to try and make a record with that young, exciting feel.” The idea was that Frank and his band would capture the exhilarating thrill of their live show. After a period of writing and perfecting the songs at a rehearsal studio in Oxfordshire, they headed to the US to work with Walker for an intense nine day recording session in which the album was completed. “Pretty much all of it is live. The end result is everything I wanted it to be,” he says.
Like much of Turner’s work, it is a record that takes Life’s Big Issues — triumphing over the darkest adversities — and places them inside a mix of beguiling, intricate vignettes and sweeping anthems. 'Josephine' is a punky singalong and 'Mittens' is a fist-clenched song of defiance while tracks such as 'Glorious You' and 'Demons' pack a bittersweet emotional punch. That it begins with 'The Angel Islington', a tribute to North London, and ends with 'Song For Josh', a touching eulogy recorded live at the 9.30 Club in Washington, is an apt reflection of the journey Frank Turner has made over the past 10 years. He has made homes from home, and formed strong bonds along the way. Positive Songs For Negative People is Turner at both his most reflective and celebratory.
Frank Turner has also announced details of a UK headline tour in November which will take in 11 cities, including at Alexandra Palace in London. Tickets will go on general sale 9am on Friday 19 June, or fans who preorder Positive Songs For Negative People via the official Frank Turner store will gain access to presale tickets — on sale from 9am Wednesday 17 June.
NOVEMBER 2015:
05 Llandudno @ Cymru Arena
06 Southampton @ Guildhall
09 Falmouth @ Princess Pavillion
13 Glasgow @ Barrowland
14 Newcastle @ University
15 Nottingham @ Rock City
18 Birmingham @ Academy
19 Sheffield @ Academy
21 Bristol @ Colston Hall
23 Manchester @ Academy
26 London @ Alexandra Palace
