Acclaimed Scottish rock band We Were Promised Jetpacks have announced their highly anticipated new album Enjoy the View which will be released on September 10th via Big Scary Monsters(pre-order). The band is also sharing a new single “Fat Chance,” which follows up “If It Happens,” released as a 7” earlier this month. The new single signifies a change in musical direction for the band, with “Fat Chance” an ode to overcoming, and even thriving, despite the odds. Additionally, the band has announced a U.S. tour in support of their upcoming album which will make stops in major markets including Brooklyn, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago and more. Upcoming shows are listed below and tickets are available HERE. (Photo by Euan Robertson)
Lead singer Adam Thompson explains; “We started properly writing this album at the end of March 2020 when we realised that everything was going to be shut down and that touring wasn’t going to be a possibility any time soon. So from March to June we sent each other ideas remotely and collaborated that way. I was so glad to have had a project to focus on when proper lockdown hit. When we were finally able to get into our practice space in July and write together in one room like we normally do, this song appeared pretty quickly.
Longtime fans of We Were Promised Jetpacks and the media often cite the band’s flair for writing infectious pop songs encased within grandiose guitar driven rock soundscapes, yet new single “Fat Chance” offers a change of pace and a glimpse into what to expect from the forthcoming album. With tightly packed drums and cleverly woven guitar arrangements, the band prioritise the track’s melodic core with effortless dexterity.
“I was just messing about on guitar in our studio and got the verse chords and as soon as the other guys joined in, we had a song! We can sometimes spend weeks and months and years trying to get the right parts together but this one flowed. I finished the pre-chorus and chorus that day and sent the demo to the rest of the band and we were excited about it straight away” Thompson said.
Thompson, Sean Smith and Darren Lackie have embraced change head-on. Amicably parting ways with founding member Michael Palmer the following year, they knew they would likely need to go through a sonic transition.
Entering 2020 as a trio with a handful of songs written and a successful U.S. tour under their belts, the world around them came to a sudden halt. Yet despite the unquestionable uncertainty that the lockdown brought, it also proved to be a blessing in disguise. Fifteen years into their career, the trio are more focussed than ever.
“If It Happens” is all at once grand yet restrained – sonically reflective of its lyrical examination of the bigger picture of life and how that can be boiled down to a simple phrase; “If it happens, it happens.” The essence of this statement carries through the entire album, and is no doubt equally indicative of how the band had to adapt to writing in a new way due to the pandemic.
With versions of the songs being passed between the band members remotely, they found the collaborative process engaging and rewarding. “Writing together this way meant we had to stay in near daily contact to talk about the songs and what we were individually and collectively trying to achieve with them. Even though we were unable to be in the same room, this way of working allowed us to continue to create together and communicate perhaps more directly and efficiently than normal,” says Adam. “Having music to focus on during lockdown only reinforced how much we enjoy being in our band together and how important it is that we do it for as long as we can.”
Darren adds, “Having had so much time off of touring has given us a renewed desire to get out there and play to as many people, in as many different places, as possible. We’re so appreciative of the people who listen to us; it’s because of them that we are constantly pushing ourselves to get better.”
November 2021
11.13 – Hamden, CT @ Space Ballroom
11.14 – Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live
11.15 – Richmond, VA @ Richmond Music Hall/The Camel
11.17 – Atlanta GA @ Terminal West
11.18 – Durham, NC @ Motorco
11.19 – Washington, D.C. @ Black Cat
11.20 – Brooklyn NY @ Elsewhere
11.21 – Cambridge, MA @ SinclairMarch / April 2022
03.21 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Rebel Lounge
03.22 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah
03.24 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
03.25 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
03.28 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
03.29 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
03.31 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
04.01 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
04.02 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
04.03 – St Paul, MN @ Turf Club
04.04 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall
04.06 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
04.07 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
04.08 – Ann Arbor, MI @ Blind Pig
04.09 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
04.10 – Montreal, QC @ Bar le Ritz
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