On June 16th Cooking Vinyl presents Other,  the brand new album by pop legend Alison Moyet. “For me, making a record at this age, lyrically, is a different proposition. Observation in most cases replaces emotion. The invisibility of middle/aged woman rather thrills me and instead I watch”, explains Moyet.

“Subject matter covers what you might expect from a pop album.  Dyslexia, locked-out syndrome, diversity, Persephone, doggedness and the Internet. Always asked what a song is about, I attempted to cooperate, but in truth though the lyrics incorporated my best attempt to describe what I see and of the meaning that is mine. I want, who chooses to, to find their own landscape or indeed none. Some of us have always felt 'Other'. I no longer wish it were otherwise.”

Despite Alison’s professing of age, the music bursts with clarity, vitality and freshness, whether in the zingy ‘Lover Go’, chic laid-back soundtrack-style ‘The English U’, ‘Beautiful Gun’s nod to her rock and roll roots, the icy Germanic arpeggios of ‘Reassuring Pinches’ or ambient, spoken-word poem ‘April 10th’.

Other finds Alison making exactly the adventurous electronic pop music she wants to at this moment in time. Other was catalysed by Alison’s fruitful dalliance with producer and song writing collaborator Guy Sigsworth, who (as well as having worked with Björk, Goldie and Madonna), co-created her last album, which debuted at number five in the national charts and won critical acclaim.

The new long-player features backing vocals from Alison’s daughter on ‘The English U’, which was preceded by her guest appearance on stage at Alison’s Royal Albert Hall show, and an appearance in the video for ‘When I Was Your Girl’ (from the minutes).

Alison Moyet – ‘Other’ tracklisting

 ‘I Germinate’

‘Lover, Go’

‘The English U’

‘The Rarest Birds’

‘Beautiful Gun’

‘Reassuring Pinches’

‘April 10th’

‘Other’

‘Happy Giddy’

‘Alive’

Alison Moyet – ‘The Other Tour’ – presales from 10am Weds 22 March - all ticket info available on Alison's website

UK/Ireland:

27 Oct – Opera House: Cork

28 Oct – Olympia Theatre: Dublin

29 Oct – Ulster Hall: Belfast

31 Oct – Sage: Gateshead

1 Nov – Royal Concert Hall: Glasgow

2 Nov – Usher Hall: Edinburgh

4 Nov – Regent Theatre: Ipswich

5 Nov – Hexagon: Reading

7 Nov – New Theatre: Oxford

8 Nov – The Dome: Brighton * in aid of Samaritans, Brighton, Hove & District

9 Nov – Symphony Hall: Birmingham

11 Nov – Cliffs Pavilion: Southend

12 Nov – Corn Exchange: Cambridge

14 Nov – The Palladium: London

16 Nov – Pavilion Theatre: Bournemouth

18 Nov – St David’s Hall: Cardiff

19 Nov – Barbican: York

20 Nov – Royal Philharmonic Hall: Liverpool

22 Nov – Bridgewater Hall: Manchester

23 Nov – Colston Hall: Bristol

24 Nov – Arts Centre: Warwick

26 Nov – Royal Concert Hall: Nottingham

27 Nov – Waterside Theatre: Aylesbury

28 Nov – 02 Guildhall: Southampton

You wait 12 years for a new Stoat song and two come along in the space of a month! ‘Trampolina’ is the follow up to ‘Talk Radio Makes Me Feel Alone’ and is the second song from the highly anticipated new album Try Not To Think About It which is due later in the spring.

The band first formed in 1998 and wowed audiences with their incisive lyrics and experimental, punk-influenced rhythms before going silent in 2005. Much has changed in the world in that time but little has changed in the quality of Stoat’s music.

‘Trampolina’ one is a bit more indie-pop than indie-punk, and less dancey than their previous offering but has a lot of bounce and a big chorus, with a full brass section. “Trampolina is a bit of a departure for the band”, says Cormac, “In that it’s an honest-to-god love song, the first I think we’ve ever done, but we’ve been playing together for decades and there are whole years I can’t account for. It describes a short lived affair, touches off the tragedy of the human condition, and ends – now I think about it – kind of poignantly.”

‘Trampolina’ is out today from usual outlets. The video, below, was done in one take, in a manner to rival OK Go.