We Were Promised Jetpacks
New Single ‘I Keep It Composed’
Out September 22nd
FatCat Records
You can watch the video for ‘I Keep It Composed’ here:
You can stream ‘I Keep It Composed’ here
“Plaintive vocals propelled by ascending-staccato guitars and hellbent rhythms” Rolling Stone
“Punchy, literate guitar music” NME
“They incorporate bursts of hard-edged, channelled energy, challenge conventions, and are most certainly smarter than the average band.” Clash
On September 22nd FatCat Records presents Scottish rock band, We Were Promised Jetpacks’ first single ‘I Keep It Composed’ from their eagerly awaited third album ‘Unravelling’.
The raucous new track ‘I Keep It Composed’ marks a great return for the band. Filled with pounding rhythm, surging guitars and heavy bass lines alongside the soft melodic piano and Thompson’s emotionally riveting vocals makes this a powerfully turbulent yet beguiling track. Exhilarating and impassioned the new single leaves you wanting more.
In spite of the album title, We Were Promised Jetpacks are doing the opposite of unravelling musically; this is a strong, fully-realized and assured album, brimming with passion.
The unique and identifiably Jetpacks sound is there, but has grown and galvanized. It’s all-killer-no-filler and definitely their most confident, accomplished and best record to date.
The LP was recorded in Glasgow at the infamous Chem19 Studios with Paul Savage – known for his work with Teenage Fanclub, King Creosote, The Twilight Sad and Mogwai.
Speaking of the latter, Jetpacks achieve similar sonic post-rock depths to their fellow Celtic luminaries, but build on that instrumental bedrock with more focus on traditional song structures. Their appropriation of post rock elements garners more accessible results, while losing none of the genre’s impact and drama.
In addition to the level of tone and texture applied to the guitars, it’s also worth noting that We Were Promised Jetpacks have a thunderous rhythm section – as tight as their 21 year friendship.
Jetpacks have already achieved considerable success and have a large fan base, but ‘Unravelling’ shows at them at a new peak, which (combined with praise for the recent premiere of album track ‘Safety In Numbers’ from Stereogum, Indie Shuffle and DIY) sets a likely scene for their reaching a higher level of accolades and renown.
The album release also sees the addition of a new member to the band in the form of multi-instrumentalist Stuart McGachan. Adam Thompson explains “Stuart is an accomplished keys, piano and guitar player as well as having a lovely little singing voice, and with him we’ve tried to do something a little different. We’ve known him for ages and played music with him before so we were pretty sure it would work out. It has just been the 4 of us since 2004, so having someone new with us has been an enjoyable part of the process.”
In 2006 Adam Thompson (vocals / guitar), Darren Lackie (drums), Sean Smith (bass) and Michael Palmer (Guitar) were a band of nineteen year old University students, bunked up together in a tenement flat in the West End of Glasgow, Scotland.
They signed to FatCat Records later the same year and their debut album ‘These Four Walls’ was released to critical acclaim in 2009. Thus began the band’s busy touring schedule, playing high profile festival slots around the UK and USA, supporting label mates Frightened Rabbit and The Twilight Sad.
2010 saw the release of EP ‘The Last Place You’ll Look’ – comprising of unreleased tracks and swelling, orchestrally-inspired rewrites of songs from their debut album.
The bands sophomore release followed in 2011 and was recorded at Sigur Ros’s Sundlaugin Studios in Iceland. ‘In the Pit of the Stomach’ was testament to the poise, control and vigour the band had learned to command. The extensive touring schedule continued and the release received high praise from the likes of Rolling Stone and Spin Magazine.
The band also continued to build on their high profile live performances with sets at Coachella, Fashion’s Big Night Out at New York’s Rockerfeller Centre and on the televised Last Call with Carson Daly.
Their 2012 US tour kicked off in LA and ended at the SXSW Festival in Austin, whilst also taking in a sold out show at the coveted El Rey Theatre in LA.
The band recorded footage from their live set at Union Transfer, Philadelphia and early 2014 saw the release of ‘E Rey: Live in Philadelphia’. The album captures the explosive energy and drama fans have come to expect from a We Were Promised Jetpacks show, with behind the scenes footage allowing fans a unique insight to life on the road with the band.
Tour Dates:
Sep 12 Limelight 2 Belfast tickets
Sep 13 Nerve Centre Londonderry tickets
Sep 14 Whelan’s Dublin tickets
Sep 17 Garage Aberdeen tickets
Sep 18 Non-Zero’s Dundee tickets
Sep 19 Caves Edinburgh tickets
Sep 20 Deaf Institute Manchester tickets
Sep 21 Komedia Brighton tickets
Oct 8 The Lexington London tickets
Dec 13 QMU Glasgow tickets
For details of all shows please visit:
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