Hampshire Star, Frank Turner, is set to release his 10th album, Undefeated, on 3 May, which includes recently released single, Do One.
Undefeated follows his first UK number one album, 2022’s FTHC, and is the result of his decision to step away from the major label world to re-embrace the liberation of working as an independent artist.
The new single Do One sees them firing on all cylinders, a supremely catchy message of defiance (“I’m still standing up and there’s nothing you can do!”), which straddles the spectrum between power-pop and pop-punk.
“Do One is the last song I wrote for the new album, and the first song on that album, as well as the first single,” says Frank.
“So it’s a summation of what I’m trying to say with this record, a record about survival and defiance, but also one with a sense of fun and self-deprecation.
“19 years into my solo career, I’m still standing up and putting out some of my best work. It feels good.
As he sings on the recent track, No Thank You for the Music, ‘Now I’m surprised to report that as I enter my forties, I’ve returned to being an angry man’. And that’s a concise statement as to what to expect from Undefeated.
Finding the sweet spot between youthful outspokenness and surviving midlife’s challenges, it’s a record that explores both emotionally compelling topics and lighter reflections on those troubles that eventually come to most of us.
Who you are versus who you wanted to be in your youth, life-altering love, fading friendships, wistful nostalgia, the mental fallout and political consequences that still linger from the pandemic era, and the more prosaic issue of persistent backache.
“There are no clichés about the difficult 10th album, so in some ways, that’s a liberating statement” adds Frank.
“But at the same time, I have a duty to justify writing and releasing a 10th album. That’s a lot of records for anybody.
“Also, I’m 42. Which is not a sexy, rock’n’roll age. But all through my career, I’ve been interested in writers like Loudon Wainwright III or The Hold Steady, people who write about adulthood, essentially.”
While thematically Undefeated is informed by this time in life, sonically it’s full of echoes to influences that Frank has touched upon at various moments in his kaleidoscopic career. It switches from Black Flag to Counting Crows, from Descendents to The Pogues, via Elvis Costello and Billy Bragg.
Its freewheeling nature is reflective not only of his new-found independence, but also of the creative environment he found himself in. As usual, it was entirely written by himself, but this is the first album that he produced himself, it features his live band: Ben Lloyd (guitar), Tarrant Anderson (bass), Callum Green (drums) and Matt Nasir (piano).
Frank Turner – new album: Undefeated – out 3 may 2024, pre-order here.
Stream new single Do One on all services here.
Watch the video here.
Undefeated tracklist:
Do One
Never Mind The Back Problems
Ceasefire
Girl From The Record Shop
Pandemic PTSD
Letters
East Finchley
No Thank You For The Music
The Leaders
International Hide and Seek Champions
Show People
On My Way
Somewhere Inbetween
Undefeated