Iconic Manchester indie rockers The Speed Of Sound present their new single 'Tranquility Falls', a transcendent power-pop meets indie-rock anthem where soaring guitars weave through an enveloping inner peace, connecting you to the universe in a moment of uplifting and all-embracing serenity.
This is the latest gem from their ambitious mega-album trilogy 'A Cornucopia: Minerva, Victory, Bounty', available in multiple formats via Californian cult label Big Stir Records.
The Speed of Sound is 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). Launched in 1989 with music that is idiosyncratic and counter-intuitive, The Speed of Sound creates 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.
"Transcendent and fulfilled, 'Tranquility Falls' describes the moment when an enveloping inner peace descends, becoming at one both internally with the immediate surroundings and also with the wider outside world - largely possible through looking further afield in the context of the whole universe or by focusing on the minute detail," says John Armstrong.
"Uplifting and joyous, it revels in serenity, but this is an all embracing serenity with a booming heavy bass and entwined guitar lines expanding and echoing through space rather than a mere silent mindfulness exercise."
The band also recently took us on an audio-visual joyride on 'SS-100-X', titled after the codename for the presidential car that fateful day of JFK's assassination in Dallas, 'Permafrost' and 'Eight Fourteen Monday', which explores themes of isolation, detachment, and the contrast between superficial politeness and genuine emotion..
With overlapping themes of independence - both culturally and artistically - each disc of the 'A Cornucopia' trilogy has its own vibe and personality: 'Minerva' is belligerence in musical form, 'Victory' is a manifesto of artistic creativity and 'Bounty' represents the fruits of artistic freedom, all taking place far from the grasping tentacles of the ‘music industry’.
'A Cornucopia' began with the band’s own love of the album format and a determination to make long-form music rather than merely produce a conveyor belt of unrelated singles. The interlocking themes of 'A Cornucopia' are deliberately made for album listeners to enjoy, each disc being its own standalone entity while also forming part of the larger whole trinity.
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', the 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 ’Bounty’ album adds to this with another ten ranging from the crunching garage rock of 'No Kicks' to the haunting floating melody of 'Virtual Reality123', acoustic driven rave-up of 'Replicant' and bouncing energy of 'Artificial Paradise'.
Marking their 35th anniversary, 'A Cornucopia' trilogy follows their 2021 critically acclaimed album 'Museum Of Tomorrow', returning triumphant, defiant and redemptive. Most music is never even recorded, and most recorded music remains unheard. ‘A Cornucopia’ is a celebration of all unheard underground music and the whole counterculture itself - music made for the pleasure of making it.
‘A Cornucopia’ is out now and available everywhere, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp, Physically the full trilogy 'A Cornucopia: Minerva, Victory, Bounty' can be ordered on both CD and vinyl at https://www.thespeedofsounduk.com/shop-2
CREDITS
All songs written by John Armstrong
Recorded, Mixed & Mastered at Vibratone Sound Studio in Manchester
by Chris Guest, Adam Crossley & The Speed of Sound
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, assorted shakers, tambourine.
Alex Armstrong - typewriter on 'Yet Another Tuesday'
‘Voices’ on 'Mind Palace': Janet Stacey Dando, Henry Armstrong, Nick Frater, Jason Edge/The Electric Stars, John Broadhurst, Mark Britton/Amoeba Teen, Janet Armstrong, Louise Turner, Peter Watts & Ruth Rogers/Spygenius and Kevin Roache, plus Ivy Frater (heartbeat).
Main sleeve image: Purple Spaceman © Lina Landers 2022
Band photographs by Shay Rowan
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR
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