Frank Turner has announced a new album, Undefeated, due May 3 via Xtra Mile Recordings (pre-order). It’s first album without a major label involved in over a decade, and Frank recorded and produced it himself in the home studio that he and his wife Jessica Guise share on Mersea Island, Essex, backed by his longtime band The Sleeping Souls.
“There are no clichés about the difficult 10th album, so in some ways, that’s a liberating statement,” Frank says. “But at the same time, I have a duty to justify writing and releasing a 10th album. That’s a lot of records for anybody. Also, I’m 42. Which is not a sexy, rock’n’roll age. But all through my career, I’ve been interested in writers like Loudon Wainwright III or The Hold Steady, people who write about adulthood, essentially.”
The album includes recent single “No Thank You For the Music,” a fired-up anthem that Frank calls “a song about defiance, rejection of mainstream culture, pride in the underground, and staying angry as you get older,” as well as the just-released “Do One.” In classic Frank Turner style, it’s a folk-tinged punk song with a chorus that gets stuck in your head on one listen. “It’s a summation of what I’m trying to say with this record — a record about survival and defiance — but also one with a sense of fun and self-deprecation,” he says. “19 years into my solo career, I’m still standing up and putting out some of my best work. It feels good.”
Check it out below. A press release notes that an extensive touring schedule is TBA, so stay tuned for that.
Tracklist
Do One
Never Mind The Back Problems
Ceasefire
Girl From The Record Shop
Pandemic PTSD
Letters
East Finchley
No Thank You For The Music
The Leaders
International Hide and Seek Champions
Show People
On My Way
Somewhere Inbetween
Undefeated