Johnny Foreigner announce new album ‘How To Be Hopeful’, and release EP today

News

12 Jun

THIS IS NOT A DRILL … Johnny Foreigner, the greatest band to ever emerge from Birmingham (there we said it yes they’re better than Sabbath), have announced their sixth studio album, How To Be Hopeful, set for release on 13 September, via Alcopop! Records. This announcement comes with the release of an introductory companion EP, the sky and sea were part of me, or I was part of them, available today.

How To Be Hopeful is poised to be a significant addition to Johnny Foreigner’s discography. The band describes it as “a loud righteous rock record about finding love and joy in the universe at a point where such things are in such universal short supply.” This album has been a long time coming, as the band mentions it is 28 months past its original deadline. They attribute this delay to the intense and chaotic process of its creation, which they describe as "chaos magic." This project is deeply personal and filled with moments worth savouring, resulting in an album that couldn't be rushed. The band notes that this is their celebration record, a testament to finding love and joy amidst chaos.

The album is structured as two parallel soundtracks, each side representing different aspects of a significant 12-month period in the band's life. This period included the worst, weirdest, and best possible events, all interwoven with chaos, consequence, and connectivity. Johnny Foreigner describes this as their "fell-in-love-and-stopped-worrying album," emphasizing the cathartic nature of its creation. The production team for this project is a dream team for the band, with Dominique James recording at JT Soars, Bob Cooper producing, and Machine mastering the album. As always, this is an Alcopop! Records release, with a cosign from their Japanese label Shore&Woods.

To set the stage for the album, Johnny Foreigner has released an introductory EP today. Titled the sky and sea were part of me, or I was part of them, this collection includes two tracks from the upcoming album—"What The Alexei" and "Orc Damage"—alongside three exclusive tracks produced by Evan Bernard, and some additional material including a haunted piano. "What The Alexei" is described as the band's first actual love song, and is a potentially libelous homage to a formative indie rock anthem. In contrast, "Orc Damage" offers a grim recounting of corporate greed and the end of an era.

To celebrate the release, Johnny Foreigner has planned several live performances, including two major release parties. The first will be held in London on September 20, 2024, at Bush Hall, featuring support from Tellison, Dags, and Other Half. The second will take place in their hometown of Birmingham on September 21, 2024, at Hare and Hounds, with Tellison, Dags, and Slash Fiction. In addition to these release parties, the band will embark on a summer tour in Japan, bringing their energetic live shows to fans across the country with dates in cities like Shimokitazawa, Osaka, and Shinjuku.

Reflecting on the journey to this release, the band members Alexei, Junior, Kelly, and Lewes shared heartfelt insights into the making of How To Be Hopeful:

“Feels like a huge privilege to release a loud righteous rock record about finding love and joy in the universe at a point where such things are in such universal short supply. This release is 28 months past deadline; our timing has always sucked. But honestly we've had little choice; How to be Hopeful is a pure product of chaos magic. It compelled us to be made, to harness returning ripples of stones long since thrown. It felt way too significant, too personal, too full of moments worth savouring and patterns playing out, to rush. Also, we are old and have real jobs now.

It's actually 2 matched parallel soundtracks, 1 per side, for a 12 month period where the worst, then the weirdest, then the best possible things happened. Same series of events, different ripples, chaos and consequence and everything connected This is our celebration record, our fell-in-love-and-stopped-worrying album, the glowing cathartic coda that we couldn't help but channel. The least Johnny Foreigner of albums; nearly 3 years of obsessive planning and constructing, executive produced by 2007 anti-nostalgia us, and 2016 us who stopped being a band when we ran out of things worth singing about.”

Johnny Foreigner formed in 2007 and quickly made a name for themselves in the indie rock scene. Over the years, they released five albums and seven EPs, garnering critical acclaim and a dedicated fanbase. Known for their DIY ethos and energetic performances, they toured extensively, playing on four continents and at numerous festivals. Despite their success, the band always maintained that they would only reunite if they had new songs worth sharing. The announcement of How To Be Hopeful marks a triumphant return, driven by a renewed sense of purpose and creativity.

We honestly can’t wait for this one and are already making plans to be at the London release party. 2024 is shaping up to be one of the strongest years for music releases in a long time. We're already wondering how we’ll manage to fit all our faves into our end-of-year round-ups. Also, keep your eyes peeled we will have an interview that we did with the band at this year’s Deadpunk Special dropping real soon.

Save the date for How To Be Hopeful, and stream the sky and sea were part of me, or I was part of them now: