Manchester’s The Slow Readers Club have announced their fourth album, The Joy Of The Return, out on March 20 via Modern Sky UK. The band have also shared their new single, ‘All I Hear’, the first track to be taken from the album, alongside details of an extensive tour starting in March.

Opening to an energetic blend of driving drums and infectious guitar lines, the track builds through evocative verses and anthemic choruses, imbued with their idiosyncratic brand of insightful and confronting lyricism and set against relentlessly danceable and energy-provoking instrumentation, and premiered with Chris Hawkins on BBC 6Music. “‘All I Hear’ is about a lack of agency and an inability to affect change. That there’s something happening, and you have no choice but to go along with it,” explains singer Aaron Starkie.

Recorded at Parr Street Studios in Liverpool and produced by long-standing collaborator Phil Bulleyment, The Joy Of The Return marks a significant change in the band’s process, with their extensive touring allowing them time to write and develop tracks and arrangements through soundchecks and back-of-van jams.

“I think it’s definitely our most interesting and accomplished record musically,” says singer Aaron Starkie. “Lyrically the album covers love, alienation, the rise of right wing populism and comments on algorithm driven propaganda. And as always, I try to deliver those lyrics with uplifting melody.”

The announcement of the album comes on the back of another huge year for the band, which saw them play a mammoth, 32-date European tour, and a number of sold out UK shows including London’s The Dome and two consecutive nights at Manchester’s The Ritz following the release of their critically acclaimed third album, Build A Tower.

SPRING 2020 UK & EU TOUR DATES

23/03 – King George’s Hall, Blackburn

24/03 – The Sage 2, Gateshead

25/03 – The Liquid Room, Edinburgh

27/03 – O2 Academy, Liverpool

28/03 – O2 Institute 2, Birmingham

29/03 – The Globe, Cardiff

30/03 – Thekla, Bristol

01/04 – Pyramids Centre, Portsmouth

02/04 – Concorde 2, Brighton

03/04 – Electric Ballroom, London

04/04 – Rock City, Nottingham

06/04 – Junction, Cambridge

07/04 – Foundry, Sheffield

08/04 – Beckett University, Leeds

09/04 – Pyramid & Parr Hall, Warrington

It’s hard to  think of winter right now but The Slow Readers Club have announced the addition of a further four shows for their headline tour this winter, with dates in Cork, Limerick, Dublin and Belfast joining their already announced shows in London, Wolverhampton, Manchester and Glasgow.

The announcement saw the band sell out the first of their Manchester dates within hours, with the second Manchester show and the London date quickly following suit. Now, the band have also announced that Jordan Allen will support the winter UK dates, with Spinn supporting for their Manchester show on December 20.

The shows follow a huge 32-date UK tour and a 16-date European tour earlier in the year, both of which saw the band play numerous sold-out shows, and a slew of festivals over the summer including Rock Werchter, Metropolis Festival and Mad Cool Festival.

Later in the year, the band will be releasing their Live At The Apollo Manchester LP/CD/DVD. The album celebrates their momentous headline show at the iconic venue ahead of the release of their fourth studio album, which the band are currently writing, next year. 

WINTER 2019 TOUR DATES

14/11 – Cyprus Avenue, Cork

15/11 – Dolans, Limerick

16/11 – Button Factory, Dublin

17/11 – Empire, Belfast

17/12 – The Dome, London* SOLD OUT

18/12 – Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton*

19/12 – The Ritz, Manchester* SOLD OUT

20/12 – The Ritz, Manchester+ SOLD OUT

21/12 – The Garage, Glasgow*