Saturday, 28 January 2017

Imelda May announces forthcoming Album LIFE. LOVE. FLESH. BLOOD

London. 27 January 2017.

LIFE. LOVE. FLESH. BLOOD
Released on DECCA on 7th April

Featuring the personal and heart-wrenching blues ballad 
‘BLACK TEARS’ with guitar legend Jeff Beck


“Imelda May has found a new groove, exploring blues, soul, gospel, folk, rock, acoustic, cinematic drama and explosive balladry. She is setting a new course with a collection of the boldest, most personal and intimately autobiographical songs she has ever written. This is the albums she’s always wanted to make. “I’ve called it Life Love Flesh Blood because that encompasses everything,” says Imelda. “It’s all in there: birth, sex, love, divorce and death. It’s the story of my life.”

"She has poured her heart and soul into her new album" Evening Standard

“I love the girl she used to be but I think I love even more the woman she’s become. Still mischievous and playful, still a siren, but there’s an ache in her voice now that has me with a glass at my ear to the wall of her world where trouble has entered the room. There’s an erotic power here that’s not just feminine power. She makes truth telling an invitation to intimacy.” Bono

“I’ve never met anyone quite like Imelda May. She is full of life…I was inspired by her honesty and her generosity, and I continue to be intrigued.” T Bone Burnett

Imelda May reveals her stunning new album cover as she officially announces her fifth studio record, entitled ‘Life. Love. Flesh. Blood’, to be released on Decca Records on 7th April, 2017.

Release Date: 7 April 2017
Label: Decca (UMO) / Verve Int'l
11 Tracks/ Time: 44:05 
Genres: Alternative Rock


Pre-order 
Amazon UK - Standard | Deluxe
UK iTunes - Standard | Deluxe
HMV Life Love Flesh Blood (Deluxe Edition, Includes Bonus Tracks)
Amazon.com - Standard

Deluxe Track List:
1. Call Me  2. Black Tears 3. Should've Been You 4. Sixth Sense 5. Human
6. How Bad Can a Good Girl Be 7. Bad Habit 8. Levitate
9. When It's My Time 10. Leave Me Lonely 11. The Girl I Used To Be
12. The Longing 13. Flesh And Blood 14. Game Changer 15. Love And Fear

It is clear that one of Ireland’s biggest exports has found a new groove, here presenting the most personal and intimately autobiographical album she has ever written. The album is produced by the legendary T Bone Burnett, who said of Imelda: 
Imelda May: Press/ Publicity Photo







































“When I first happened onto her music, she was a punky Irish Rockabilly singer with a great band. When I ran across her several years later, she had gone through a change of lives and was writing about it with a wild intensity and singing about it in the most open hearted way” – T Bone Burnett

Recorded over seven days in Los Angeles, the album features musical contributions from guitar hero Jeff Beck (on ‘Black Tears’), piano legend Jools Holland (on ‘When It’s My Time’) and an accomplished group of backing musicians including the core trio of guitarist Marc Ribot (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello), drummer Jay Bellerose (Elton John & Leon Russell, Ray Lamontagne) and bassist Zach Dawes (The Last Shadow Puppets, Mini Mansions), the same band that recorded Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’ Raising Sand.



The album marks a new direction for May who, in the time since her 2014 release Tribal, ended her marriage of eighteen years. Imelda May’s new sound sits firmly outside of any sharply defined genre box, widely spanning blues, rock, soul, gospel and jazz. 'Life, Love, Flesh, Blood' breathes new life into a classic sound, with Imelda’s powerhouse vocal as distinctive as ever, cementing her position as one of the strongest vocalists of her generation. The singer herself describes the record as her most "honest" yet. Imelda’s life changed considerably in the run up to recording, and this is documented in the only way she knew how. “It's therapy, like keeping a diary that a lot of people read. Some of my favorite songs don’t say much, but they reveal everything.” Imelda explains.

Single ‘Black Tears’, premiering Fri 27 January, is one such example. A personal and heart-wrenching ballad, it features a distinctive slide guitar part, coupled with a unique picking and guitar tone that could be the handiwork of only one man – the legendary Jeff Beck.
Jeff Beck says of Imelda,
“I knew it from the start ...you cannot ignore talent this unique” – Jeff Beck

Imelda showcases her raw yet restrained breathtaking lead vocal, complimented by rich backing vocals and a super tight rhythm section. Written with Angelo Petragalia (Kings of Leon), the inspiration for the song’s visual and poignant lyrics were inspired by a very personal moment for Imelda:

“I wrote Black Tears with Angelo Petraglia after a heart wrenchingly difficult goodbye. I closed my door and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror with black tears rolling down my face. It's a sight and situation most women have unfortunately seen ourselves in at some point in life. Angelo had a beautiful guitar piece that fit the mood perfectly.”

Life Love Flesh Blood Album Trailer:


Imelda saw 2017 in with this very track, as she impressed viewers of Jools Holland’s esteemed annual Hootenanny on New Year’s Eve with a captivating live performance, which landed hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube in just days of its upload and was the most popular hootenanny video this year on BBC Music’s YouTube channel.




Imelda May, born and raised in The Liberties area of Dublin, has become one of Ireland’s most celebrated female artists in history. Discovered by Jools Holland, who asked Imelda to support him on tour, Imelda has gone on to perform alongside legendary artists including Lou Reed, Bono and Smokey Robinson. Her previous album ‘Tribal’ debuted at #1 in Ireland and #3 in the UK.

Imelda has also just announced her extensive 2017 UK Headline Tour in May, including a night at The London Palladium.  

MAY 2017
Thu 4th May 2017 - Regent Theatre (Ipswich; 3 St Helen's Street, IP4 1HE)
Fri 5th May 2017 - St David's Hall (Cardiff; The Hayes, CF10 1AH)
Sat 6th May 2017 - The Corn Exchange (Cambridge; Wheeler Street, CB2 3QB,
Mon 8th May 2017 - Cliffs Pavilion (Southend-On-Sea; Station Road, SS0 7RA)
Tue 9th May 2017 - G-Live (Guildford; London Road GU1 2AA)
Thu 11th May 2017 - The Hexagon (Reading; Queens Walk, RG1 7UA)
Fri 12th May 2017 - Pavilion Theatre (Bournemouth; Westover Road BH1 2BU)
Sat 13th May 2017 - Theatre Royal Concert Hall (Nottingham; Theatre Square, NG1 5ND)
Mon 15th May 2017 - The Philharmonic Hall (Liverpool; Hope Street, L1 9BP)
Tue 16th May 2017 - Barbican Centre (York; Paragon Centre, YO10 4NT)
Thu 18th May 2017 - London Palladium (Westminster; Argyll Street, London, W1F 7TF)
Fri 19th May 2017 - Colston Hall/ Lantern (Bristol; Colston Street, BS1 5AR)
Sat 20th May 2017 - The Bridgewater Hall (Manchester; Lower Mosley Street, M2 3WS)
Mon 22nd May 2017 - Symphony Hall (Birmingham; Broad Street, B1 2EA)
Tue 23rd May 2017 - Usher Hall (Edinburgh; Lothian RD, EH1 2EA)
Wed 24th May 2017 - Royal Concert Hall/ Strathclyde Suite (Glasgow; Renfrew Street, G2 3NY)
Fri 26th May 2017 - The Sage (Gateshead; St Mary's Square, Gateshead Quays, NE8 2JR)

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