The UK's Sharks today announced the release of their much-anticipated new full-length album, entitled Selfhood. The album will be released on April 30th via Rise Records and is the follow up to their striking 2012 offering No Gods, which NME called, "joyous blue-collar punk from Leamington Spa... a starry-eyed celebration of yearning on a US factory floor, as idealised by British spa town punks." The album's radiant first single "Portland" is available to hear now. See below for a lyric video, album art, full track-listing, and pre-order bundles.
Selfhood was recorded in just two weeks in Southampton, UK at The Ranch studio and produced by Lewis Johns (Gnarwolves, Bastions). The new release expands on the explosive punk meets Brit pop anthems on No Gods, and showcases a more mature and solid live band - a result of endless international touring in support of past releases.
"The whole approach with this record from the beginning was to have the process be very reckless and fun, and for every decision and idea not to be pondered on or over thought," said the band's frontman and vocalist James Mattock. "We set ourselves no more than three months to write this record, with no songs written going into the studio. We wanted to set ourselves these targets as a way to really capture a moment -an important aspect in making an album."
The songs on Selfhood spotlight the band's effortless knack for indie-punk songwriting, sharp guitar-fueled melodies and emotionally charged lyrics - channeling influences from the likes of The Smiths,
Richard Hawley and The Cribs.
"I wrote most of the lyrics in a room above a morgue in which I lived with my fiancée for about five months," said Mattock. "The place was an old Victorian building with no heat, running water, or bathroom. It wasn't even legally residential. A lot of what I was going through around this period is channeled in the lyrics. These are the most intimate and personal songs I've written - thus Selfhood is the most fitting title."
Born in 2007, Sharks is James Mattock (vocals), Andrew Bayliss (guitar), Sam Lister (drums), and Carl Murrihy (bass). They released their first independent EP, Shallow Waters, in 2008 and drummed up a serious buzz while playing with the likes of Gallows,
The Wedding Present,
Social Distortion, Hot Water Music, The Gaslight Anthem, Baby Shambles and more. In 2011 they released The Joys of Living 2008-2010, which BBC's Zane Lowe praised as "the sound of a band reaching that moment when they are absolutely ready." Their 2012 release No Gods introduced the band to U.S. audiences, with Alternative Press declaring that their music "bristles with a wonderful sense of rock and roll heritage that serves as a tribute to fallen heroes... something refreshing and contemporary."
Sharks just returned home from a successful appearance at the Soundwave Festival in Australia. Stay tuned for announcements on U.S. touring plans.
CLICK TO PRE-ORDER SELFHOOD
1. Selfhood
2. Your Bloody Wings
3. Portland
4. I Won't Taint
5. The More You Ask Me, The Less I'm Sure
6. Sunday's Hand
7. 22
8. Pale
9. Gold
10. Room With A Grey View
11. The Wild One
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