JOHN
NEW ALBUM "A LIFE DIAGRAMMATIC“ END OF SEPTEMBER VIA BRACE YOURSELF
& PETS CARE RECORDS
On June 6, 2023, the duo with the cryptic name JOHN - consisting of John Newton (drums, lead vocals) and Johnny Healey (guitar, backing vocals) - announced their fourth album "A Life Diagrammatic".
The follow-up to the 2021 LP "Nocturnal Manoeuvres", which stormed the Top 75 of the UK album charts, will be released on September 22 via Brace Yourself and Pets Care Records. The September release will be accompanied by a tour through British record stores in the week after the release, as well as the band's first live tour in North America in October, after JOHN recently entered our clubs together with Cloud Nothings.
The upcoming release of "A Life Diagrammatic" will be accompanied by the new single 'Service Stationed' - featuring guest vocals from Leona Farrugia of the rising Anglo-Maltese quartet ĠENN. The song is further driving proof that JOHN is capable of setting new heights. "Service Stationed" builds an inescapable atmospheric presence from undulating guitar riffs, thumping drums, and Newton's distinctive guttural barking, wrapped in a three-minute, outwardly shiny shell.
The link to the video for SERVICE STATIONED is as follows:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQQnxxmCuGk
John Newton says:
"In the rehearsal room, we immediately liked the drive of the song; I thought it reflected the driving movement of the band," says Newton. "We try to challenge ourselves by not automatically relying on repeatable and tried-and-true methods. I think that's one of the reasons why we are still a band after a decade."
"At the same time, the idea of forward projection is also contained in the theme of the song. There is a rather vampiric craving for progress in our present, which is there to constantly generate new capital - even if it's just a masquerade of recycled material that is presented to us as novelty. This is often a delicate endeavor where quality suffers in favor of maintaining attention. This is obviously something that has also penetrated music culture, and this one-hit-wonder attitude is something we have tried to avoid throughout our creative journey."
"The song is a lyrical allusion to William Morris, who fought against the tide of industry in history. He was buried not far from my hometown - a housing estate was built over the railway tracks that transported his remains to his resting place. A somewhat fitting symbol, I thought, especially since I wondered what he would think of the convenience culture that has accelerated since his death."
Recorded by Tom Hill at The Bookhouse in South London, mixed by Seth Manchester (METZ, Big Brave, Battles), and mastered by Frank Arkwright (Arab Strap, Squarepusher, Autechre), with the aim of uniting the band's powerful live presence while also highlighting some of the different dynamics at play. "We wanted to further explore the space and atmosphere of our instrumentation," says Newton. "We wanted to offer an album that consciously pushes and pulls in a variety of directions as it plays."
And the resulting album does just that. From the first track "At Peacehaven", a groove develops that combines tight and explosive rhythms with an urgent lyrical approach that includes both eruptions of noise and moments of restraint. This sense of balance, contrast, and duality is at the heart of JOHN. They are a band that, on the surface, is stripped down to the essentials, a format that could perhaps be equated with primitive rock, yet their work is multi-layered and nuanced - and the result is something that defies simple genre categorization.
This is also evident in the name of the band. It may seem like a simple reference to the name of the duo, but when searching for a deeper meaning, one is rewarded with something that contains not only artistic thoughts but also a guiding principle that has been an essential part of the band's creative process over the last ten years. "It's a statement against coloring music with unnecessary embellishments," explains Newton. "It says: 'We will not be sensational'. That’s not to say it isn’t intensely theatrical, but I think there’s enough theater in the actual energy that’s on stage."
This approach is perfectly embodied by the guests who appear on the album. Actor Simon Pegg, who can be heard on "Media Res", is almost buried under a grainy, scratchy piece led by a monologue. It’s a piece influenced by Brechtian theater methods, "which aim to remove unnecessary aesthetics and encourage the audience to take an active role in the theater."
The same goes for Barry Adamson's appearance on "Riddley Scott Walker". For JOHN, what Adamson represents was key to his inclusion and not just a name. "It’s great to have someone who understands a similarly cinematic approach to music," says Newton. "Especially since he has created music for David Lynch's Lost Highway and his own imaginary film score Moss Side Story."
The duo announced the album in April with the new single "Trauma Mosaic", another excellent example of the band's subtle evolution in recent years, which continually redefines and expands the parameters of what a guitar and drums duo can be. Driven by a crushed drum sample that started as a playful experiment, Newton layers his vocals in an almost chant-like manner before the guitars break out.
