In November, Joan Armatrading will release “How Did This Happen And What Does It Now Mean“, The British singer-songwriter’s 21st studio album. Twenty albums down the line and over half a century recording, Joan Armatrading continues to move forwards, preferring the new to the old. Her splendidly named new album “How Did This Happen And What Does It Now Mean” is a forest of invention and great songs. This one is very much in the grand tradition that gave the world “Me Myself I”, “Love And Affection” and “Down To Zero“, the unique kind of emotional rock and confessional pop that marks her best work.
The album – entirely written, produced, programmed and engineered by Joan herself – features ‘I’m Not Moving’. Joan wrote this track immediately after witnessing some alarmingly confrontational public behaviour by a young person. She explains the scenario:
He was like ‘I’m going to kill everybody! I’m not moving! You can get the police! You can’t move me!’ All the lyrics just flowed, in one, and I knew it had to have an aggression, because that’s how he was. I did a version of it that was a little bit milder, but you could tell that wasn’t it. Joan Armatrading
These are songs that, if their stories didn’t actually happen, sound entirely real: from the regretful “I Gave You My Keys” to the gorgeous “Come Back To Me (If Only In Dreams)“, this is a record full of sadness, soul and insane guitar workouts. On “Back And Forth” and “Now What?”, Armatrading does serious harm to electric guitars. The results are great, and entirely in keeping with an album that sounds both familiar and brand new.
The album was recorded this year and features two instrumemtals, showcasing Armatrading’s talents as a guitarist.
“How Did This Happen And What Does It Now Mean” is released on 22nd November 2024, via BMG.
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