Looking backwards and forwards all at once, drawing on influences from across every spectrum, 1982 is an unpredictable record that will reward a dedicated listener dozens of times over.
Even by the band’s high standards - which includes a gleeful disregard for boundaries of style and genre, their eye fixed firmly on constant movement forwards - their latest studio album 1982 is multidimensional. Recorded by the core ACR line up of Jez Kerr, Martin Moscrop and Donald Johnson, alongside Tony Quigley, Matthew Steele and Ellen Beth Abdi, it shoots off in every direction, whether via searing Afrobeat, mind-melting jazz breakdowns or moody electronic experiments.
And the album title? Although 1982 might conjure memories of the year that saw ACR put out both the acclaimed Sextet and the cult favourite I’d Like To See You Again, it’s more of a playful red herring than an invitation to nostalgia.
credits
released March 31, 2023
Produced and mixed by A Certain Ratio
Recording and mix engineer Christophe Bride
Recorded and mixed at Oxygene, Soundstation 3 and Substation
Mastered by Kevin Tuffy at Alchemy
All songs written by Johnson, Kerr, Moscrop.
Except 2 written by Johnson, Kerr, Moscrop, Abdi, Shanda (Chunky), Steele
5 written by Johnson, Kerr, Moscrop, Steele
6 written by Johnson, Kerr, Moscrop, Abdi, Meecham
7 written by Johnson, Kerr, Moscrop, Abdi
9 written by Johnson, Kerr, Moscrop, Steele
All songs published by Mute Song Ltd
Except 6 published by Mute Song Ltd / Asongs Music Publishing LLP
Ellen Beth Abdi – vocals on 1, 2, 6, 7, 8 Flute on 9
Tony Quigley – sax on tracks 7, 8 & 10
Matthew Steele – Keyboards on 2, 5, 7, 9 & 10
Andy Meecham – Keyboards and electronic percussion on 6
Craig Shanda aka Chunky – vocals on 2
Christophe Bride – Additional synth noises on 9 & 10
Like so many others, this came like a bolt out of the blue and, even though it's well before payday, I had to have this astonishing album on vinyl to prove it exists. The feel of the tunes makes me feel like the Impressions do, Curtis Mayfield, the big spaces and instinctive horns and stuff drifting in and out. Great grooves and I can see lots of ghosts nodding along to this with big smiles on their faces. At last! Anthony Cottrell