Written by: Mike Dimitriou
Here we have the brilliant indie-rock new single by the legendary U.K. outfit The Claim.
The introspective snarl of “Journey” is the first taste from their much-anticipated new album The New Industrial Ballads, the band’s first new recording since 1992, and will be out May 24 via A Turntable Friend Records.
Hailing from Cliffe in Kent, The Claim were one of the major players in the thriving ’80s “Medway Scene” alongside The Prisoners, Thee Milkshakes, The Dentists, Wipe Out and more. Their music made a potent impact on bands like Blur while The Manic Street Preachers used to write The Claim long love letters, and performed their first ever London show supporting them in 1989. The Claim was an indie rock gang with character; a stalwart indie rock foursome who wrote feverish pop songs that were nimble, catchy and tough.
The new album presents the group’s sound 30-odd years later and it’s different, it’s interesting and it’s still distinctively in the mold that made the group among the few true pioneers of Britpop in the late 80s and early 90s.
“‘Journey’, marks a welcome return of political pop. It’s a song that The Claim wrote following the European referendum. It was motivated by a deep unease about the way in which the political right dehumanized economic migrants during the campaign and afterward,” says the band’s guitarist David Arnold. He adds: “The lyrics reflect on the similarities between the journeys made by different members of all our families across the generations, to find a new life and a happy ending. Empathy is something we have to fight for.”
This 14-track record will be available digitally, on gatefold CD (with lyrics) and on black vinyl (with lyric sheet), with a special blue-green vinyl edition also exclusive to Rough Trade and Bandcamp orders. It will also be distributed worldwide via SRD (Southern Record Distributors) in London.
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