The Futureheads have recorded an album of a capella recordings, with ‘Rant’ due to be released on April 2nd.
Perhaps we should have seen this coming…
About a year ago ClashMusic previewed a track from The Futureheads, recorded for a charity compilation. Completely a capella, it seems that this version of ‘Robot’ acted as a blueprint for an entire album.
‘Rant’ is set to be released on April 2nd, and finds the band focussing entirely on their vocals. “A couple of years ago we did an a cappella version of a Kelis song called Acapella for the Radio 1 Live Lounge” explains Barry Hyde. “And it was such a buzz to perform live on the radio just with four voices. There’s nothing to hide behind.”
Ross Millard, meanwhile, has insisted that ‘Rant’ wasn’t something that the band rushed into. “We didn’t sit down and say, “the record will be great if we do these particular songs” he said. “It’s been a gradual, protracted process. We were in and out of the studio throughout the whole of 2011… although it was a small amount of studio time in terms of hours. In that time we educated ourselves on a cappella”.
The tracklisting moves from the band’s own material (‘Robot’), English folk song (‘Sumer Is Icumen In’), Kelis, Black Eyed Peas and Sparks.
Due to be released on April 2nd, ‘Rant’ has already caused ruffles amongst the band’s fanbase. The criticism has clearly riled Barry Hyde: “A Futureheads fan who doesn’t get ‘Rant is not a Futureheads fan’. This version of The Futureheads has always been there. We’re bringing to the fore what we’re really about: a unification, a gang mentality, which is in the balance between our voices and our personalities. And on ‘Rant’ we’re pushing that right into your face. We’ve stumbled across tricks as we’ve made Rant which are so powerful and which no one has ever done before”.
“Just because this is an a cappella album doesn’t mean to say that the songs are slow or passive. They’re still in-your-face, slightly mad, aggressive. They’re still The Futureheads.”
The Futureheads are set to release ‘Rant’ on April 2nd. Tracklisting:
1 Meantime
2 Meet Me Halfway
3 Robot
4 Beeswing
5 Thursday
6 Sumer Is Icumen In
7 The Keeper
8 The No. 1 Song in Heaven
9 The Old Dun Cow
10 Acapella
11 Man Ray
12/secret track Hanging Johnny
Bonus track: Heartbeat Song
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Photo Credit: Ian West
