Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes have revealed that they are going to be kicking off 2024 with their brand new album Dark Rainbow. Over the last eight years, Frank and his friend and associate Dean Richardson have travelled the full breadth of rock and roll. There’s the spiky punk of Blossom and the shimmering ecstasy of End Of Suffering. They have never kept still and never settled. Their last effort, 2021’s Sticky, delivered throbbing slabs of indie rock brilliance. Whilst 2022 saw them experiment further with “Parasite” and “The Drugs“. Though now, we are in a fresh new chapter and a fresh new vision for what the band can be. Though it’s not the complete transformation that you may expect.
Black Rainbow will be released in the first month of next year. Specifically, it will be on January 26 via International Death Cult / AWAL. Dean had this to say about what the record represents and how they came to create it:
“Normally, we don’t look backwards when making a record, but this has been looking to reach us for a long time. Some songs are old ideas reworked, fresh eyes on something that didn’t quite fit on their other records. Some of these songs were lost along the way because basically we didn’t really give them the space.”
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To take a look at the tracklisting, you can see how far the sentiments will be spreading based on the titles. There’s the spiky “Brambles” and vital “Self Love”, thoughtful “Happier Days” and questioning “Can I Take You Home”. And the artwork is just as mysterious. A black shed in the middle of the forest, lit up by torchlight. It’s mysterious, curious and beautiful in its own way.
And the first taste of the record is here right now. It’s called “Man Of The Hour” and it is unlike anything they have done before, which fits with the theme perfectly. Low-key and luxurious, with soft tempos and glittering keys, it’s a ballad and an anthem all wrapped up tightly. It’s gorgeously quirky and classic in every sense. Frank had this to say about it:
“We talk about how rock’n’roll will never die, but we never really talk about how maybe the idea of the rock star should die. The whole concept and what it means has always been this glamorised moment, but ultimately when I put that suit on, it didn’t go very well for me.
“I’m just witnessing the world change so quickly, and I’m still trying to come to terms with who I am and what the authentic version of me is. By giving people what I thought they wanted, I think I got further and further away from who I actually am.”
