The Damned unveil secrets of each track on upcoming album – “Evil Spirits”

THE DAMNED SHARE TRACK BY TRACK INFO FOR NEW ‘EVIL SPIRITS’ ALBUM
OUT FRIDAY APRIL 13TH ON SEARCH AND DESTROY / SPINEFARM RECORDS
PRE-ORDER ALBUM HERE
ANNOUNCE SELECT NORTHWEST DATES IN JULY AFTER BURGER BOOGALOO
US TOUR THIS FALL (DETAILS FORTHCOMING)
Following a hugely successful UK tour which saw British punk legends The Damned rev up 2018 by playing to thousands of rabid fans, including two back-to-back sold-out London shows, the band returned last month with a double A-side single culled from their forthcoming ‘Evil Spirits’ album, released April 13th via Search And Destroy/Spinefarm Records. The single featured the tracks ‘Look Left’ and Devil In Disguise,, two songs that perfectly represent the album’s many shifting moods and styles.
Recorded by legendary producer Tony Visconti, ‘Evil Spirits’ is the result of a frantic, high-energy burst of creativity at Atomic Sound studios in Brooklyn in October of 2017, with ‘Black Album’ and ‘Strawberries’-era bassist Paul Gray back in the fold.
Select shows in the Northwest have just been added, following their headline slot at Burger Boogaloo in Oakland July 1st.  A US tour will be announced at a later date (details forthcoming).
‘EVIL SPIRITS’- TRACK BY TRACK:
‘Standing On The Edge Of Tomorrow’ (watch video)
Up-to-the-minute garage psychedelia that gallops like Scott Walker’s ‘The Seventh Seal’, amid ominous ‘dies irae’ chorale and mucho post-millennial frustration. Vanian: “An optimistic song even though it is about a dark subject. In a world obsessed by ‘self’, this is a cry for humanity to recognize its humanity, before it’s too late. There is a strong influence of Joe Meek here: ‘Telstar’ was a glorious song about the opportunities of the future. I’d like to think that ‘SOTEOT’ reflects a similar sentiment.”
‘The Devil In Disguise’ (listen)
Another energetic garage-punk monster, replete with Monty Oxy Moron’s era-specific Farfisa organ. Pinch: “People gravitate towards blaming individuals rather than the systems they are part of. Figureheads are only puppets. It’s the puppet masters we should be concerned about. The enemy of our enemy is our friend, apparently.”
‘We’re So Nice’
“Where there’s dispute you’ll find us there…” Sensible’s broadside against Anglo-American imperialist meddling around the world bops along gleefully on a Motown beat amid a deluge of melodic excellence. Sensible: “With all that we know about the Iraq war, and its consequences, does anyone still think we were the ‘heroes’?”
‘Look Left’ (listen)
Sugar coated mind grenade, addressing post-millennial society’s “media-induced coma” Vanian: “The weird thing about Pinch is, he listens to the most obnoxious music a lot of the time – all the real hardcore punk stuff – and he a very loud drummer, too, but then he goes and writes this great big show tune – like a massive ensemble cast coming on to sing at the end of the play!” Pinch: “While everybody’s looking left, what the hell is happening right? Tough subject matter is easier to digest when coated in honey rather than vinegar and the message in this song is so important, I couldn’t risk it being a throw away aggro punk tune that was immediately overlooked. I see it more as a love song to the human race. The future is here, and until you awaken your mind, I’ll wait for you.”
‘Evil Spirits’
Fantastically searching, in the best sense ‘progressive’, rocker, with vague echoes of The Who’s ‘Magic Bus’ and The Rolling Stones’ ‘Can’t You Hear Me Knocking’, and some commensurately exploratory soloing from Sensible. An urgently free-spirited riposte to today’s political stasis. Sensible: “Whoever you vote for, nothing changes. Labour or Tory, two cheeks of same bum.” Vanian: “The Who are never far away from The Damned’s sound. We’ve had some big noses in this band, too. I suppose there are some parallels between us, because they were a high-energy band, too, but then Pete started writing his rock-opera stuff, stretching out, looking for different ways of writing. Queen did the same sort of thing as well – we’re one of those bands whose music can cover different genres of music, within one song.”
‘Shadow Evocation’
Quintessential Vanianism, about espousing the night and finding a better way forward than “chasing ghosts of the past”. Features acrobatic backing vocals from American singer-songwriter Kristeen Young. Vanian: ”Kristeen has a remarkable vocal range reminiscent of Yma Sumac [1950’s Peruvian-American soprano]. Her singing at the end of the song was originally played on a Theramin but once Kristeen sang the part, there was no need for the instrument anymore.”
‘Sonar Deceit’
Another garage-psych belter, propelled by a jaunty His Latest Flame-style bassline. “What makes a fish desert the sea?” ponders the Captain in this hard-hitting critique of whales and dolphins being driven insane by bombardment by deafening sonar.
Sensible: “What could it possibly be that drives whales and dolphins to prostrate themselves on beaches around the world?”
‘Procrastination’
Noel Coward-esque study of creative deferral, with more mid-’60s Farfisa from Mr Oxy Moron. Sensible: “One of Monty’s, this one. A bit of self-analysis here: what could be the reason that this band’s last album was recorded back in 2008? It’s good to be able to laugh at yourself – well, at least I think he’s talking about himself there… Isn’t he? Or is it me? Blimey!”
‘Daily Liar’
Co-written by Sensible (tune) and Vanian (lyric), another anger-fuelled barnstormer, with a Kinksian introductory fanfare, a driving beat, and a stirring melodic ascent. All together now: say “no, no, no…no-no” to media misinformation! Sensible: “For his own selfish reasons, Trump started a discussion about ‘fake news’, but it’s one that some might say has been long overdue. Not a pinch of salt required – you need a whole cellar of the stuff these days.”
‘I Don’t Care’
Punk heedlessness rebooted as a triptych of political disaffection, spanning moody piano balladry, Who-y explosiveness, and nocturnal jazz
Vanian: “This should have been a short song, perhaps only a minute long, written on a rainy afternoon in my study. Demoing the song, I almost forgot that there were two more sections, turning it into a three-part epic in about the same amount of minutes, which seems longer because of the differing moods.”
Evil Spirits is available on digital download via Spotify and i-Tunes, on CD and 180g vinyl available to pre-order HERE
        
Photos: Dod Morrison
LIVE SHOWS:
EUROPE:
May 17 – Frankfurt – Batschkapp
May 19 – Lausanne – Les Docks
May 20 – Milan – Magnolia
May 22 – Munich – Strom
May 23 – Berlin – SO36
May 25 – Hamburg – Fabrik
May 26 – Oberhausen – Turbinenhalle
May 27 – Amsterdam – Melkweg Oude Zaal
May 29 – Paris – Petit Bain
UK:
June 16 – Birmingham – Genting Arena *
June 17 – Manchester – Arena *
June 19 – Glasgow – The SSE Hydro *
June 20 – London – The SSE Arena, Wembley *

US:
July 1 – Oakland – Burger Boogaloo Festival

July 5 – Vancouver –  Commodore Ballroom (on sale 4/6 10am PST)
July 6 – Portland – Crystal Ballroom (on sale 4/6 10am PST)
July 7 – Seattle – Showbox at the Market (on sale 4/6 10am PST)
UK:
August 22 – Southampton – 02 Guildhall
August 23 – Holmfirth – Holmfirth Picture House
August 24 – Warrington – Warrington Parr Hall
August 25  – Belfast – Belsonic Festival (main support to Stiff Little Fingers)
* supporting the Hollywood Vampires
hard-charging ethos accented by smooth hi-fi production and a stylistic debt to pop’s pre-rock era.”Stereogum
The Damned have become, if possible, more eccentric and outrageous as they grow older.”  – The Independent
“The King’s people have drunk from the Fountain of Youth. This truly is a band at the top of its game. Long Live The Damned”
– Louder Than War
The Damned are:
David Vanian – Vocals
Captain Sensible – Guitar
Monty Oxy Moron – Keyboard
Pinch – Drums
Paul Gray – Bass
Keep your mind open.
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The Damned’s “Evil Spirits tour” has begun, and their new album is out April 13th!

THE DAMNED ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM ‘EVIL SPIRITS’ TO BE RELEASED APRIL 13th VIA SEARCH AND DESTROY/SPINEFARM RECORDS
LISTEN TO NEW SINGLE ‘STANDING ON THE EDGE OF TOMORROW’ ON SPOTIFY

Photo: Steve Gullick
Formed in 1976 at the forefront of the fledgling London punk scene, The Damned kickstarted the birth of punk as we know it, leaving an influential legacy for generations to come. Their musical journey has seen the quintet intent on moving forward, courageously exploring sights and sounds way beyond their brash wide-eyed beginnings – and they’re back to do it all over again.
Some ten years since the release of their last studio recordings, The Damned return with a new album, ‘Evil Spirits’, to be released April 13th on Search And Destroy/Spinefarm Records, preceded by the new single ‘Standing On The Edge Of Tomorrow’, streaming online today ahead of their forthcoming Evil Spirits UK tour starting January 26th.
Propelled by an enormously successful Pledge funding campaign, the band headed to Atomic Sound Studios in Brooklyn in early October 2017 and began a frantic, high-energy, nine day burst of creativity with famed producer Tony Visconti, whose list of past working-relationships reads like a who’s who of popular music. (David Bowie, T Rex, Morrissey, U2, The Stranglers, Iggy Pop and Thin Lizzy to name but a few), Reunited with former bassist Paul Gray (who played on the legendary ‘Black Album’ and ‘Strawberries’ in the early eighties), the renewed line up took full advantage of the studio’s classic Neve recording desk, valve gear and vintage equipment to form the new record.
“We deliberately recorded the album retro style,” explains guitarist Captain Sensible.The same way our debut album was made, basically. There’s something wonderful about the seventies sounds; glam, rock and punk records, they all sound so great and Tony specializes in beautifully crafted old school production. He had us all playing live, bashing it out in the same room with a focus on getting the initial band version of each song as close as possible to the finished thing.“
The first taste of ‘Evil Spirits’ comes in the form of ‘Standing On The Edge Of Tomorrow’, a song penned by frontman Dave Vanian, that packs a punch and carries a melody that is impossibly hard to shift once heard.
It’s supposed to be very optimistic, even though it’s about a dark subject,” states Vanian.As an artist, you can’t help but reflect the times, because that’s what art does. I think we always do it, but in a slightly different way. So a song like ‘Standing…’ may seem quite joyous and uplifting musically, but some of the lyrics might be about quite dark things. That’s what I’d like to think this album is – an uplifting album, not a moaning old album – not ‘this is terrible, and that’s terrible’, and then not offering any answers. It’s more a case of, ‘If we get it together, maybe we could change things a bit”.
Across the album’s ten-tracks, The Damned get to the root of their collective song-writing and ‘Evil Spirits’ is an album which doesn’t shrink from opposing the dastardly political forces at work in 2018, and indeed triumphs in seeking higher ground, to progress beyond them.
“This album is filled with a lot of influences from our earlier, pre-’70s tastes – the ’60s stuff. ‘Standing…’ is really linked into Joe Meek, ‘Telstar’, and that kind of stuff,” continues Vanian. At first, I’d said in an interview before we started writing this stuff that the album would be psychedelic, and maybe a trip through the historical side of The Damned, as in what we like. It didn’t happen in the way I thought it would, but it still does the same thing. It still has all that in there, but it’s not as obvious as it could’ve been, which is good. It’s not like pastiches of songs you remember, it’s more a case of, what was great about something you loved as a kid has somehow influenced a guitar sound, or the way the drums are. You might not even know it if you’re one of our younger fans, but if you’re a little older, you’ll hear it, which is kinda cool.”
And of the ‘Evil Spirits’ that the album intends to dispel?  “I started buying records in 1967, the Summer of Love,” adds Captain Sensible. “There were so many positive changes happening through the 60s and 70s; civil rights, feminism, the anti-nuclear demos in particular. Whatever happened to all that? Where are today’s anti-war marches? Whatever happened to the beautiful hippy dream of worldwide peace and love?”
Evil Spirits will be available on digital download via Spotify and i-Tunes, on CD and 180g vinyl available to pre-order HERE

TRACKLISTING: 
1. Standing On The Edge Of Tomorrow
2. Devil In Disguise
3. We’re So Nice
4. Look Left
5. Evil Spirits
6. Shadow Evocation
7. Sonar Deceit
8. Procrastination
9. Daily Liar
10. I Don’t Care
Catch the band on tour this January and February. Main support comes from fabled Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom (*except Koko), whilst support at Koko and The Forum comes from Kristeen Young.
See The Damned on their ‘Evil Spirits’ tour 2018
27th January – Dundee, Caird Hall
28th January – Glasgow, O2 Academy
30th January – Leeds, O2 Academy Leeds
31st January – Manchester, Academy 1
1st February – Birmingham, O2 Academy
3rd February – Leicester, O2 Academy
4th February – Nottingham, Rock City
6th February – Folkestone, Leas Cliff Hall
7th February – Southend, Cliffs Pavilion
9th February – Cardiff, Great Hall
10th February – Bristol O2, Academy Bristol
11th February – Bournemouth, O2 Academy
13th February – Southampton, O2 Guildhall
14th February – Bexhill De La Warr Pavilion
16th February – Koko, London*
17th February London, O2 Forum
Tickets available HERE
Follow The Damned at:
Keep your mind open.
[No evil spirits will visit if you subscribe…I think.]

Top live shows of 2017: #’s 25 – 21

Who cracked the top 25 of my live shows I saw this year?  Read on!

#25 – Temples – Valley Bar – Phoenix, AZ March 11th.

Temples were the last band to play on the Desert Daze lineup at the VIVA PHX music festival.  It was my first time seeing them in a small venue, and they nailed it.  They sounded perfect and delivered a solid set that earned them many new fans.

#24 – The Damned – House of Blues – Chicago, IL April 23rd.

I’d wanted to see punk rock legends the Damned for a long while, and this show was pretty much what I’d hoped it would be.  The crowd was a fun mix of punks, goths, and horror film fans, and moshing to “Neat Neat Neat” with the Damned only a few feet away was a delight.

#23 – Thundercat – Mamby on the Beach – Chicago, IL June 25th.

I’d heard a lot of good things about Thundercat prior to seeing him live at this music festival, and he didn’t disappoint.  He and his two-man backing band played a great jazz fusion set in the middle of a festival mostly devoted to electronic dance music.  He’s an amazing bass player, and seeing him shred live makes you appreciate his skill even more.

#22 – Marian Hill – Mamby on the Beach – Chicago, IL June 24th.

Speaking of Mamby on the Beach, Marian Hill were one of the best bands we saw there.  They played a great set of sexy dance rock that might be the best new makeout music you need to hear.

#21 – Goblin – Thalia Hall – Chicago, IL October 25th.

This performance from Italian prog / horror rock masters Goblin had a criminally light attendance, but they didn’t care.  As usual, being at a Goblin show is like being in a giallo film.  The whole atmosphere is creeping and fascinating.  They also played a nice tribute to the late George Romero.  Shame on you if you missed this one.

Who cracks the top 20?  Tune in tomorrow to find out!

Keep your mind open.

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The Damned’s Paul Gray rejoins the band in time to record their new album.

BRITISH PUNK ROYALTY THE DAMNED REVEAL
UPCOMING ALBUM DETAILS AND MORE
TONY VISCONTI SET TO PRODUCE NEW DAMNED ALBUM SET FOR RELEASE 2018 
FORMER BASSIST PAUL GRAY REJOINS BAND 
 
Photos: Dod Morrison
As reported in early spring, legendary punk band The Damned signed a new label deal with Search & Destroy and announced plans for their 11th studio album. Now the band is pleased to announce that preparations are underway.
The band’s raw, primal and macabre energy will see its match in the studio this October in Brooklyn, NY with famed Producer Tony Visconti who for over five decades has produced some of the world’s most influential artists and their greatest albums (David Bowie, T.Rex, Morrisey, U2, The Stranglers, Iggy Pop and Thin Lizzy). On Engineer duties is four time Grammy-winning Producer /Engineer/Mixer Kevin Kline, who has also worked with Bowie and has spent the last several decades compiling an impressive list of credentials featuring premiere pop artists Peter Gabriel, Elvis
Costello, Burt Bacharach, Bryan Ferry and Brandon Flowers.
The New York Observer proclaimed, “The Damned are a band of infinite depth and a wide variety of pleasures… high-quality blurs of melodic punk, Beach Boys-ish flowery psych-pop, chiming, bittersweet post-punk, Moody Blues-ish bombastmopherics, spiraling goth and soaring faux soul, all brilliantly executed…”
It’s rather fitting that the band who in 1976 launched an alchemic, heady new British rock sound collaborates with one of the most important and influential producers in the history of rock.  “We want to do the unexpected,” noting that the new album will offer some of the old and a lot of the new. “We’ve never been predictable and well, neither has Tony. There will be a measure of experimentation and we know he’ll do his best to artistically challenge us. He’s been at the top of our producer list since we first started thinking about recording the album, dream come true he’s on board!” The as-yet-unnamed new album will be their first new album for nearly ten years and is the follow up to, ‘So, Who’s Paranoid?’ which came out in 2008.
This news also comes with a change in The Damned’s line up. The Damned  announce the bitter sweet news of the departure of bassist Stu West. “We had a great time with Stu on this long journey. We have infinite respect for him and are forever grateful for his contributions to The Damned. As a result of this mutual understanding, we respect his decision, support him wholeheartedly and wish him the best of luck and success.”
Furthermore, The Damned reveal that once again they will reunite with their former bass player Paul Gray (Eddie and the Hot Rods/Johnny Thunders (New York Dolls, Rob Tyner (MC5)/UFO), who was an essential part of the Damned during the 80s and who played bass on previous Damned albums “The Black Album” and “Strawberries”. Gray will be joining the Damned in the studio this fall.
A dizzying mix of dedication, creativity and stubborn will continues to fuel Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible, Monty Oxymoron, and Pinch.  While The Damned’s 40 year journey has been challenging, rewarding and shocking at best, they continue to reign as Punk’s original connoisseurs and feel very positive about what lies ahead in the future.  That evidence will be heard on their new album and in venues worldwide as the blitz continues on their Evil Spirits Tour set to rock intimate venues through out the UK this January.
The Damned ‘Evil Spirits’ 2018 UK Tour Dates:
26 January Newcastle O2 Academy
27 January Dundee Caird Hall
28 January Glasgow O2 Academy
30 January Leeds O2 Academy Leeds
31 January Manchester Academy 1
1 February Birmingham O2 Academy
3 February Leicester O2 Academy
4 February Nottingham Rock City
6 February Folkestone Leas Cliff Hall
7 February Southend Cliffs Pavilion
9 February Cardiff Great Hall
10 February Bristol O2 Academy Bristol
11 February Bournemouth O2 Academy
13 February Southampton O2 Guildhall
14 February Bexhill De La Warr Pavilion
17 February London O2 Forum
About The Damned:
Formed in 1976, The Damned really need no introduction…  As well as releasing the first ever British punk single and album, they also broke further new ground as the first UK punk act to tour America. The Damned still receive their dues in the US, where they are often cited as a major influence on many future rock acts, including bastions of the nascent US hardcore scene such as Black Flag and Bad Brains plus heavy metal heavyweights such as Green Day, The Offspring and Guns ’N’ Roses. The band recently celebrated four decades together with a deluxe reissues package and a world tour.
About Search and Destroy:
Raw Power Management oversee a roster of internationally successful acts which include: Bring Me The Horizon, At The Drive In, While She Sleeps, Of Mice and Men, Don Broco, Mallory Knox, and others.  The company’s record label Search and Destroy is home to, among others, Bullet For My Valentine & Atreyu.  Search and Destroy is a joint venture with Spinefarm Records / Universal.
Follow The Damned: