The Farm Announce First New Album In Over 30 Years

Get back on, get back on, get back on! My groovy train! The Farm are from Liverpool, not Manchester, but they still played a key role in the Madchester story of the late ’80s and early ’90s. The Farm figured out their dance-rock style around the same time that the Happy Mondays landed on their own. The Farm took a little longer to drop their debut album, but that album, 1991’s Spartacus, was a #1 hit in the UK, and it sent a couple of singles into the top 10. “All Together Now” actually went top-10 twice — when it first came out, and when it was re-released to cheer on the English national team in the Euro 2004 tournament. The Farm have a place in history, but they haven’t released an album since 1994’s Hullabaloo. That’s about to change.

The Farm broke up in the mid-’90s, and they got back together in 2004. They’ve been playing occasional live shows since then, including a UK tour to support Jeremy Corbyn’s beautiful but failed campaign to become Prime Minister. All five band members have lately been writing music together, and they’ve got a new album called Let The Music (Take Control) on the way next year. I love that title. Inexplicable parentheses? That’s rock ‘n’ roll (baby)!

To get us ready for the LP, the Farm have shared their single “Forever And Ever,” which is very much in the same vein as the band’s indie-dance classics. This time, though, you can hear weariness that comes with age, and it gives an interesting new shade to singer Peter Hooton’s presence. In a press release, Hooten says, “When I first heard the new music in rehearsals, I knew I had to match the infectious nature of the music, so went for lyrics that aim straight between the eyes. I went for the timeless theme of everlasting love. It’s about love, obsession and infatuation.” Check it out below.

Let The Music (Take Control) is out 5/2 on Modern Sky.