Irish post punk/indie rock band The Clockworks have announced the release of their debut full-length album ‘Exit Strategy‘.
Set to arrive on November 10, the 13-track album, was recorded with Grammy, BRIT & Mercury Prize winning producer Bernard Butler. Pre-order your copy here.
Exit Strategy centres around a protagonist who moves from Galway to London in search of meaning, certain that as the main character in the film of his own life, the solution lies in changing his surroundings and acting as someone he’s not. It promises encounters with manipulative bosses, evil ad agencies, a broken pact to flee to Australia, run-ins with the law, cheating boyfriends, drug-fueled youths, heartache, paranoia, social media anxiety, and a drunk singer dressed as Jesus.
Explaining the album’s genesis and cinematic influence, James McGregor says: “We were always sure we wanted the album to be greater than the sum of its parts, so decided to create the world of a film, entitled Exit Strategy. We envisaged the record as a series of snapshots, telling the story of a group of characters trying to navigate through life.”
Of new single “Westway”, McGregor adds: “We were inspired by the writing and production of ‘50s Doo-wop, Phil Spector and Motown. Westway is the album’s final track, so we are beginning the album’s story with the last scene in the same way that some of the great films, like Goodfellas, begin at the end.”
Check out the video for “Westway” below followed by the album’s artwork and tracklist.
Hallmarked more by a philosophy than a sound, The Clockworks weave pop sensibilities with noisy, post-punk, rock-influenced stylings. The songs seem swaggering and dark yet often have an epic, nostalgic quality. They sit poetic introspection beside witty kitchen sink drama to create something intense but playful.
The Clockworks ‘Exit Strategy’ Tracklisting:
- Deaths and Entrances
- Bills and Bills
- Mayday Mayday
- Enough is Never Enough
- Hall of Fame
- Car Song
- Danny’s Working Like a Dog
- Feels So Real
- Advertise Me
- Modern City Living (All We Are)
- Life in a Day
- Lost in the Moment
- Westway
Photo credit: Oscar J Ryan
