Band Of Skulls will release their fifth album ‘Love Is All You Love’ on April 12, 2019 via So Recordings.
‘Love Is All You Love’ breaks bold new ground for Band of Skulls: a tough rock’n’roll record with gleaming pop hooks; an album where melancholy and euphoria combine in equal measure. It’s an album that doesn’t skimp on the force of overdriven guitars, but combines the sounds of a live band with electronic programming and the pop genius of producer Richard X to create a record that sounds like a band reborn.
‘Love Is All You Love’ was recorded in London’s Miloco Studios, The Smoakstack studio in Nashville, and in the Southampton studio of Band Of Skulls founder members’ Russell Marsden (guitar, vocals) and Emma Richardson (bass, vocals). Following the amicable departure of drummer Matt Hayward, Russell and Emma started the writing process for the record in 2017 and quickly accumulated a host of new songs.
Work switched to The Toyshop studio at Miloco to collaborate with Richard X, who encouraged Band Of Skulls new spirit of experimentation. Once the writing was complete the band decamped to Nashville to record the live element of the record with Eagles Of Death Metal’s Julian Dorio on drums.
Lyrically, Love Is All You Love is affected by our troubled times. “It influences you whether you like it or not,” Richardson says. “You get affected by the fear of it all and that sense of powerlessness. But there was a concerted effort not to make a depressing record about it all, because I don’t think anyone wants to hear a dark, depressing record about these times. We wanted to have that feeling of euphoria in song, because we weren’t getting it anywhere.”
So songs such as lead single ‘Cool Your Battles’, title track ‘Love Is All You Love’ and second single ‘We’re Alive’ are more about finding unity and shared humanity than howling into the existential void. “We’re focussing on the positive,” Richardson says. “Music, as well as making you think, should entertain and uplift, as well as making a statement. It’s supposed to make you feel something, and if you can make someone feel better about interacting with other people, that’s a good thing.”
Since 2009, Band Of Skulls have released four acclaimed studio albums and have built a reputation as a phenomenal live act, both at home and in the US, where they have performed on the Late Show With David Letterman, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and Last Call with Carson Daly. They have toured with luminaries like Muse, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Queens Of The Stone Age and Black Keys among others, as well as touring the globe as a headline act.
Band Of Skulls will support the album release with a series of special shows throughout release week, including a show at Manchester’s Stoller Hall
