© Cat Stevens / BMG
The Charlatans usher in a bold new era with their 14th studio album, We Are Love, set for release on 31 October via BMG.
One of the best loved UK bands of the last four decades, The Charlatans’ career spans 13 albums, 22 Top 40 singles, three Number One albums and era-defining anthems like The Only One I Know, North Country Boy and One to Another. We Are Love launches a bold new era, one that finds them at peace with their past whilst looking forward to a bright future.
The title track, debuted at their recent hometown Castlefield Bowl show, sets the tone with an anthemic, love-fueled energy. It is not quite the return to the floppy fringes, corduroy halcyon days of yore, but it is a terrific piece of songwriting that shows there's a place for The Chalraans in the here and now.
Described by frontman Tim Burgess as "an open-top car ride in the credits of your favourite movie," it’s a driving, celebratory ode to human connection and the first signal of the band’s creative resurgence. Mark Collins explains: "Early on we thought it felt right. And it turned out that way: first single, title track, second song on the album. And things started forming around We Are Love. There was a certain energy to it that drove us forwards”.
We Are Love marks their first album in eight years, incidentally the longest gap of their career, due to a mix of global events, solo ventures, and life logistics. Despite the protracted delay, The Charlatans have assembled an all-star production team including Dev Hynes (Blood Orange), Fred Macpherson, and the legendary Stephen Street, recording at two key locations in their history: Rockfield Studios in Wales and their Big Mushroom space in Cheshire. The return to Rockfield, where they hadn’t recorded since the tragic loss of keyboardist Rob Collins in 1996, carries a deep emotional weight and a renewed sense of purpose.
We Are Love is a reflection on the band’s journey. It's filled with highs, lows, and the enduring bond that’s held them together for decades.
As Burgess puts it, "the whole idea of hauntology and psychogeography is represented by us going back to Rockfield, where so much history has happened for The Charlatans. That was important as a way of honouring every member who's played in the band. So we’re honouring ourselves, our past, feeling that energy and reincarnating it, doing something fresh, brand new.”
This introspection brought home the fact that love is the glue that has held The Charlatans together for so long, and that’s reflected in the 11 tracks that make up this forward-thinking, future-facing album.
© BMG
