Black Grape share ‘Milk’ and announce their first new album in six years

Black Grape have announced details of ‘Orange Head’ – their first new album in six years. Listen to the lead single ‘Milk’ below.

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The upcoming album will mark the band’s first new music since 2017, when they released their third studio album ‘Pop Voodoo’. It also sees the duo – comprised of Manchester veterans Shaun Ryder and Paul Leveridge, known as Kermit – hone back in on their signature, experimental sound.

According to the press release, ‘Orange Head’ will still see both members capture their iconic “cosmic musical jigsaw” like seen in their previous albums, and deliver that same unique blend of “melding rock, hip-hop, acid house, psychedelic pop and reggae”.

It also, however, will capture the same personal growth experienced by Ryder, who has overcome his previous run of public struggles and evolved “from a wild young tearaway into a British National Treasure” in recent years.

Check out the lead single, ‘Milk’ and album tracklist below.

The tracklist for ‘Orange Head’ is:

1. ‘Dirt’
2. ‘Pimp Wars’
3. ‘Button Eyes’
4. ‘Quincy’
5. ‘In The Ground’
6. ‘Loser’
7. ‘Milk’
8. ‘Panda’
9. ‘Self Harm’
10. ‘Sex On The Beach’

Alongside news of their forthcoming album, the hip-hop duo are also set to embark on a UK headline tour later this year, including a date at London’s Electric Ballroom.

The first show of the tour will kick off with an appearance at the Shiiine On Weekender in Somerset on November 17, before the band make stops in Birmingham, Manchester and Cardiff for the rest of the month.

From there, two shows are lined up for December, with the London gig taking place on December 1 and a final slot set for Southampton. Check out a full list of tour dates below and purchase tickets here.

Black Grape’s UK tour dates are:

NOVEMBER
17 — Shiiine On Weekender
23 — The Mill, Birmingham
24 — Albert Hall, Manchester
30 — Tramshed, Cardiff

DECEMBER
1 — Electric Ballroom, London
2 — Engine Rooms, Southampton

Coming together to form the band nearly three decades ago, Black Grape hit commercial success across the UK from the release of their debut album ‘It’s Great When You’re Straight… Yeah’ back in 1995. The LP went on to top the UK album charts and be certified platinum.

From there, their second album ‘Stupid Stupid Stupid’ also proved to be a hit upon its 1997 release, and saw the band achieve gold certification after selling 500,000 units.

Their next project didn’t come together for nearly 20 years, when they eventually decided to reform and record the track ‘England Till I Die’ for the European nations of 2016. This was the catalyst for another Black Grape collaboration, and led to their most recent studio release, 2017’s ‘Pop Voodoo’.

Speaking with NME ahead of their third album, the frontman and Happy Mondays singer explained that the album was a witty, danceable attack on then-US President, Donald Trump and the state of affairs.

“It’s great what you do in your youth and your twenties but for us it’s totally different, for me it’s totally different. I enjoy where I am now just as much as I did then. On the writing front, I think we’ve topped the first album,” he said at the time.

“On this our writing’s better, we’re not feeding habits any more or living in that world where that was very important to us. Sex and drugs has gone, it’s rock’n’roll. It’s not that it’s boring or you’re not gonna have any ideas, this album is just as good and writing-wise even better.”

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