Public Service Broadcasting have announced details of a new album titled ‘The Last Flight’. Pre-order the LP and check out the lead single ‘Electra’ below.
Announced today (July 9), the project marks the fifth studio album from the band, and is set for release on October 4 via their new label home, SO Recordings.
The inspiration for the LP is taken from the final voyage of America’s pioneering female “aviatrix” Amelia Earhart. Back in 1922, when she was aged just 25, she flew higher than any woman before her, and went on to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, setting multiple speed and distance records.
It also makes a nod to her final venture, when she announced in 1937 that she would circumnavigate the globe in her Lockheed Model 10-E Electra aircraft. She crossed the Americas, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, but never made it back.
“I wanted to do a woman-focused story, because most of the archive we have access to is overwhelmingly male,” said J. Willgoose Esq, discussing the inspiration for their first album since 2021’s ‘Bright Magic’. “I was initially drawn in by Earhart’s final fight, rather than the successes that she had, but the more I read the more I became fascinated by her. Her bravery and her aeronautical achievements were extraordinary, but her philosophy and the dignity that she had… she was an outstanding person.”
To coincide with the announcement, the band have also shared the album’s first single ‘Electra’. It is a pulsating, funk-inspired track which, like the album, takes inspiration from the determination of Earheart and captures the same force as her aircraft.
“The song is about Amelia Earhart’s plane, the marvellously named Electra,” the band explained. “To match the name, the vibrancy and the excitement of the aircraft, the track is full of pulsing electronics and interlocking, percussive melody lines, plus pace.” Check it out below.
Like the song, the full album is set to capture the same full-of-life force that Earheart had, as well as evoke feelings of adventure, speed and freedom in both a physical and psychological way.
It also stars guests including Carl Broemel from My Morning Jacket, Andreya Casablanca and EERA – who both appeared on ‘Bright Magic’ – and This Is The Kit’s Kate Stables.
“The final flight is the spine of the journey: the story jumps off at different points, and examines different facets of her personality, her relationship with her husband, her attitude to flying, her attitude to existing. She gave herself, I think, less than a 50 per cent chance of survival when she flew the Atlantic alone. To put yourself, willingly, in those situations… I think it says something about that drive at the heart of humanity,” the band explained of the album.
“However ‘The Last Flight’ isn’t doom-laden or covered in grief. There’s adventure, freedom, the joy of being alive. The reason why she wanted to fly was to find the beauty in living – ‘to know the reason why I’m alive, and to feel that every minute.’ The flight did fail, but she was right. Of all the people we’ve written about, I have the deepest respect and admiration for her.”
Pre-order the album here and check out the artwork below.
As well as sharing news of their fifth album and dropping its lead single, Public Service Broadcasting have also revealed details of an in-store tour, taking place around the time of the LP’s release.
The dates follow on from the four-piece opening for Manic Street Preachers at Trentham Live in August. It also takes place around the same time that they’ll embark on a full UK and European tour scheduled for October and November 2024.
Instore dates kick off in Leeds on October 4, and include stops in Manchester, Liverpool, Southampton, Bristol and Kingston. The run of tour dates initiates on the 16th, with an opening night at the Barrowland in Glasgow.
Find a full list of UK and European tour dates below, and remaining tickets here.
Public Service Broadcasting’s upcoming UK and European shows are:
AUGUST
17 – Staffordshire, Trentham Live, Trentham Estate (supporting Manic Street Preachers)
OCTOBER
Instore tour:
4 – Leeds, Crash (daytime), signing only
4 – Manchester, Piccadilly (evening) – Outstore at Night & Day
5 – Liverpool, Jacaranda (evening)- Outstore at The Baltic
6 – Southampton, Vinilo (evening)- Outstore at The Brook
7 – Bristol, Rough Trade (evening) – Outstore at Strange Brew
8 – Kingston, Banquet (evening) – at Pryzm
UK and European tour:
OCTOBER
16 – Glasgow, Barrowland
17 – Aberdeen, Music Hall Aberdeen
18 – Manchester, Albert Hall (SOLD OUT)
19 – Leeds, O2 Academy Leeds
21 – Gateshead, The Glasshouse International Centre for Music
22 – Nottingham, Rock City
24 – Coventry, Warwick Arts Centre
25 – Cambridge, Corn Exchange
26 – Bristol, Bristol Beacon (SOLD OUT)
28 – Cardiff, Cardiff University, Great Hall
29 – London, Roundhouse (SOLD OUT)
30 – Brighton, Brighton Dome
31 – Aylesbury, Friars Aylesbury at The Waterside Theatre
NOVEMBER
2 – Ireland, Dublin, 3Olympia Theatre
3 – UK, Belfast, The Telegraph Building
4 – Ireland, Cork, Cyprus Avenue
10 – Netherlands, Amsterdam, Melkweg (Oude Zaal)
11 – Belgium, Brussels, Ancienne Belgique Club (SOLD OUT)
12 – Germany, Cologne, Club Volta
13 – Netherlands, Groningen, Vera
14 – Germany, Hamburg, Knust
16 – Norway, Oslo, Blå
17 – Sweden, Stockholm, Kägelbanan
18 – Denmark, Copenhagen, Vega
19 – Germany, Berlin, Columbia Theatre
20 – Germany, Munich, Ampere
21 – Switzerland, Zurich, Mascotte
23 – Italy, Milan, Arci Bellezza
25 – Spain, Barcelona, La Nau
26 – Spain, Madrid, Sala Copérnico
27 – Spain, San Sebastian, Dabadaba Club
29 – France, Paris, Petit Bain
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