THE SPEED OF SOUND presents 'Artificial Paradise', first single from their 'Bounty' album
The band's 'A Cornucopia' album trilogy marks their 35-year anniversary
FOR FANS OF: Pylon, The B-52s, Jefferson Airplane, Lene Lovich, Manic Street Preachers, Blondie, Throwing Muses, Television
FOCUS TRACKS: Underground, Apocalypse Acropolis. Rock Paper Scissors, X-Y Axis, Empathic Reaction, Apocalypse Metropolis
FCC clean
'Artificial Paradise" video https://youtu.be/JiCUeTKDH9Y
Get the single https://thespeedofsoundartificialparadise.hearnow.com/artificial-paradise-jaunt
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/album/7u00043qh7QhO6q0aeBMoS
'Bounty' LP https://thespeedofsound.hearnow.com/a-cornucopia-pt-3-bounty
Bandcamp https://thespeedofsound.bandcamp.com/album/a-cornucopia-pt-3-bounty
‘Victory’ LP https://thespeedofsound.bandcamp.com/album/a-cornucopia-pt-2-victory
'Minerva' LP https://bigstirrecords.bandcamp.com/album/a-cornucopia-minerva
'Apocalypse Acropolis' video https://youtu.be/8nHEj-z74jA
'The Same River' video https://youtu.be/wiYGvhshRUs
‘Underground’ video https://youtu.be/iJHMBr6SPX0
'Mind Palace' video https://youtu.be/U6OwGpvOut8
'Trickledown' video https://youtu.be/kDCslTPpogM
'The Great Acceleration' video https://youtu.be/LCGSCo9xj3g
'West Wind' video https://youtu.be/2g1JlCuKZso
"Buzzing fuzz guitar lines emerge from a delicate acoustic introduction to intersect with the crashing chords and the ‘bulbous pulsing’ rhythm section" ~ Record Collector Magazine
"it’s clear that the sonic kaleidoscope presented on The Speed of Sound’s new album is worth the wait - a musical compass in a direction we should all explore" ~ The Spill Magazine
“Unmistakeable sound a winning formula” ~ The Big Takeover
“A triumph of industry, imagination and talent, coolly novel and damned addictive” ~ Louder Than War
‘Unique and other worldly” ~ Vive Le Rock
“A form of Art-Pop that is wry, incisive, yet a deeply listenable examination of post industrial culture” ~ Rock At Night
"A riotous maelstrom of musical mayhem” ~ The Manc Review
Manchester indie rock / power pop outfit The Speed Of Sound present 'Artificial Paradise', a hugely upbeat danceable rail against Artificial Intelligence, along with the B-side 'Jaunt', which also happens to be the first single revealed from the album 'A Cornucupia: Bounty' - the third of their album trilogy 'A Cornucopia: Minerva, Victory, Bounty', released via Big Stir Records.
Formed in 1989 with a pre-history dating back to the day Andy Warhol died in 1987, the band is now made up of father and son John Armstrong (guitars and vocals) and Henry Armstrong (keyboards), Ann-Marie Crowley (vocals and guitar), Kevin Roache (bass guitar) and John Broadhurst (drums).
"Already the 'music industry’ appears to have no actual interest in music beyond creating prefabricated manufactured ‘product’. The logical next step from their existing ‘talent factories’ and hologram concerts perpetuating careers of dead stars is for major labels to move to entirely virtual stars; AI singing AI songs with AI instruments. AI regurgitates what is available for it to scrape, it cannot create something new. There will be no advancement, no evolution, no change. There is no life without change," says John Armstrong.
''Artificial Paradise' is uncompromisingly human and says a firmly grooved up “No” to Artificial Intelligence in music. The video uses A.I images which are all generated from the prompt “Artificial Paradise” and are all meaningless, formless and empty. Which is exactly what A.I does".
Full of ambition, energy and melodic brilliance, this three-album deluxe edition is available on vinyl and CD. Beginning with the 'Minerva' album, The Speed of Sound shared a rich bouquet of thought-provoking compositions, including the hauntingly spacious 'Trickledown', the stratospherically vast 'The Great Acceleration', the uplifting 'Mind Palace' and 'West Wind', where a recklessly fast rhythm merges with a Wagnerian horn section.
The 'Victory' album then brings 14 fresh and unexpectedly shape-shifting grooves, from the supremely danceable 'Underground', unabashed sensuality of 'Monsoon', gothic lounge jazz of 'Permafrost', the glam-rocking 'E to F', reckless garage punk punch of 'Go For It', post-nostalgia of 'The Same River' and triumphant shimmering elegance of 'Tranquility Falls' to the strangely linked pairing of 'Apocalypse Acropolis' and 'Apocalypse Metropolis'
The Speed of Sound's music has always been idiosyncratic and counter-intuitive, in search of something new. Creating music with lyrical bite, expanding their foundation of 1960s, punk and new wave influences, their dynamic and stylistic variation crossing borders and pushing boundaries at every opportunity.
Following 2021's critically acclaimed album 'Museum Of Tomorrow', the band returns triumphant, defiant and redemptive with this trilogy, marking their 35th anniversary. Most music is never even recorded, and most recorded music remains unheard. 'Victory' is a celebration of this unheard underground music and the counterculture itself - music made for the pleasure of making it.
'Artificial Paradise' is out now and available everywhere, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp, where the full trilogy 'A Cornucopia: Minerva, Victory, Bounty' can be obtained on CD or vinyl. The 'Bounty' album will be official released on November 22.
CREDITS
All songs written by John Armstrong
John Armstrong - guitars and vocals
Ann-Marie Crowley - vocals and guitars
Kevin Roache - bass guitar
John Broadhurst - drums
Henry Armstrong - keyboards
Bob Dinn - trumpet and flugelhorn
Chris Guest - harmonium, vibraphone, organ, shakers, tambourine
Alex Armstrong - typewriter on 'Yet Another Tuesday'
Recorded, Mixed and Mastered at Vibratone Sound Studio in Manchester by Chris Guest, Adam Crossley and The Speed of Sound
Main sleeve image: Purple Spaceman © Lina Landers 2022
Artist photographs by Shay Rowan
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR
'BOUNTY' TRACK LIST
01. Virtual Reality 123 - UKET42000047
02. Artificial Paradise - UKET42300062
03. Jaunt - UKET42300063
04. Radio Safe - UKET42000030
05. Keep It Quiet - UKET42000028
06. The Melancholy Rose - UKET42000033
07. No Kicks - UKET42000031
08. Replicant - UKET42000032
09. Glide On By - UKET42000029
10. Charlotte 12” Version - UKET42000048
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