Joanna Gruesome announces new album ‘Peanut Butter,’ shares new track “Last Year”

STREAM: “Last Year”

SoundCloud / Pitchfork

Photo by Pat Graham  –  (Click image for high res)

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Due to rising international pressure, Joanna Gruesome’s new album Peanut Butter will finally enter the world on June 2 via Slumberland (US) and May 11 via Fortuna POP! (UK) and Turnstile (ROW). Rival groups will be disappointed to learn that the record is a further experiment in combining hyper melodic pop music with sonic violence. Officials have confirmed that the album contains a record number of hooks, traces of nut and elements of jangle pop, British hardcore punk, atonal music, screaming and drone organs. Yet they have issued warnings of “a marriage of radical politics with peanut butter spread”. Why not listen to the taster track “Last Year”, a song about experiencing tragedy and the occult in a water park.

Like their debut, the new album was recorded by MJ from Hookworms, with the aim of heightening the group’s “pop” and “aggressive” elements to excessive and hitherto unrecorded levels. As songwriter Owen Williams explains: “We tried to make it shorter, more economical and attempted to pack as many hooks and screams in as quickly possible in order to avoid short changing the consumer or wasting her/his/their time. Lyrically it’s more obtuse and surreal but also attempts to mock trad masculine rock themes whenever things do get more lucid. But sometimes musically we embrace them by doing embarrassing guitar solos. I’m not sure how much else I’m at liberty to say but one thing I will disclose is that the record is a response to threats posed by rival groups.”

Comprised of Alanna McArdle (vocals), Owen Williams (guitar), Max Warren (bass), George Nicholls (guitar) and David Sandford (drums), the band all originally met on a wine tasting holiday. Their terrific debut album Weird Sister took the world by storm when it was released in September 2013, going on to win last year’s Welsh Music Prize. Fantastic press support saw glowing press reviews across the board with particular love from Pitchfork and from NME, including a spot on the front cover as part of their Rule Britannia issue, as well as live coverage from The Guardian, Observer and The Independent. At radio their singles have scored a remarkable four out of four on the BBC 6Music playlist and the band have played sessions for both Lauren Laverne on 6Music and for Huw Stephens on Radio One.

(click artwork for high res)

Joanna Gruesome
Peanut Butter
[Slumberland Records] Release Date: June 2, 2015

Track List: