“Manchester legend’s whipsmart masterclass in live-to-tape punk-funk” – MOJO
“Former Factory workers still finding fresh flavours of modernist funk-punk” – Uncut
“An album of earworms” – Blitzed
A CERTAIN RATIO – Jez Kerr, Martin Moscrop and Donald Johnson – have released their Dan Carey produced thirteenth studio album, It All Comes Down to This, today on Mute.
Listen to the urgent, muscular, foreboding groove of ‘Keep It Real’, with its chorus namechecking classic dance, funk and electronic bangers:
Released almost exactly a year after their acclaimed album 1982, it is further evidence of the mentality that defines A Certain Ratio, one that has always set them apart from their peers – a dogged, relentless demand to evolve, re-assess and reinvent with every new release. After the confident, sprawling, pan-genre strut of 1982 and a tour that celebrated 45 years of ACR performing live, comes this new record from completely out of leftfield. The record’s ten tracks present ten distinct moods, every bursting moment of it is defiantly, resiliently alive. It All Comes Down to This, for now at least, is the sound of the current incarnation of A Certain Ratio. The purest distillation of their essential sound ever committed to tape, and the first time they have recorded as just the core trio of principle band members – multi-instrumentalists Jez Kerr, Martin Moscrop and Donald Johnson.
The other essential difference between It All Comes Down to This and its immediate predecessors is the recording process: after already working together on a remix for Loco Remezclada (2021), the band turned to the doyen of contemporary underground rock producers, Dan Carey (Black Midi, Kae Tempest, Black Country New Road) to work on the album. Known for his rejection of sonic clutter and his uncompromising focus on the central tenets of the bands and artists he produces, Carey’s instincts closely aligned with ACR’s desire to return to the basics.
By honing in on the band’s essential building blocks, Carey has teased out a brittle, inner darkness that has always been latent in ACR, but not always at the surface. And if there is a residual darkness in the album’s sonic aesthetic, then it pervades the subject matter, too.
“We wrote the album while the world was in turmoil,” explains Moscrop. “Which it still is. If you think about climate change, corporate war, the environment, Trump in power, Johnson, the Ukraine war, Israel and Palestine, it really does all come down to this. It’s probably the most political album we’ve written.”
The band have two special events this weekend: Manchester’s Piccadilly will host album launch party at Soup on Saturday 20 April, where the band will perform the album in its entirety before answering questions, and on Sunday 21 April they will be performing and signing albums at Rough Trade Nottingham. Later in the summer, on Friday 2 August, their performance at Kendal Calling on Tim Burgess’ Tim Peaks stage will be recorded, pressed to vinyl and available at a signing event on Sunday 4 August.
ACR’s good friend and collaborator, Ellen Beth Abdi, a name familiar to anyone that has seen the band’s incendiary live performances in recent years, will be joining the tour as a very special guest. Ellen, who featured on the band’s last album & tour, is now concentrating on her solo career – this will be a brilliant chance to catch what ACR’s Martin Moscrop describes as “some of the most original and inspiring music coming out of Manchester at the moment.”
If you missed the Night Flight Plus premiere over the weekend, you can watch a hyperactive trip to Dan Carey’s studio to see some of the band’s recording process, edited by Kieran Evans with footage by Marta Ruly here:
“We wrote the album while the world was in turmoil,” explains Moscrop. “Which it still is. If you think about climate change, corporate war, the environment, Trump in power, Johnson, the Ukraine war, Israel and Palestine, it really does all come down to this. It’s probably the most political album we’ve written.”
Three new extra special dates have been added to the tour: on 20 April Manchester’s Piccadilly will host album launch party at Soup, where the band will perform the album in its entirety before answering questions, on 21 April they will be performing and signing albums at Rough Trade Nottingham and on Friday 2 August, their performance at Kendal Calling on Tim Burgess’ Tim Peaks stage will be recorded, pressed to vinyl and available at a signing event on Sunday 4 August.
ACR’s good friend and collaborator, Ellen Beth Abdi, a name familiar to anyone that has seen the band’s incendiary live performances in recent years, will be joining the tour as a very special guest. Ellen, who featured on the band’s last album & tour, is now concentrating on her solo career – this will be a brilliant chance to catch what ACR’s Martin Moscrop describes as “some of the most original and inspiring music coming out of Manchester at the moment.”
It All Comes Down to This tracklisting
- All Comes Down to This
- Keep It Real
- We All Need
- Surfer Ticket
- Bitten by a Lizard
- God Knows
- Out From Under
- Estate Kings
- Where You Coming From
- Dorothy Says
INSTORE PERFORMANCE / SIGNING EVENTS
- 20 April – Manchester, Piccadilly, at Soup – Album Launch Party with live performance / Q&A
- 21 April – Nottingham, Rough Trade – Live performance and signing
LIVE DATES – with support from Ellen Beth Abdi
- 25 April – Huddersfield, The Parish
- 26 April – Leeds, Brudenell
- 27 April – Blackpool, Bootleg Social
- 28 April – Edinburgh, Summerhall
- 29 April – Aberdeen, The Tunnels
- 1 May – Norwich, Arts Centre
- 2 May – London, Fabric
- 3 May – Bedford, Esquires
- 4 May – Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms
- 5 May – Brighton, Concorde 2
- 9 May – Birmingham, Castle & Falcon
- 10 May – Hull, Social
- 11 May – Sheffield, Foundry
- 12 May – Bristol, Exchange
- 17 May – Manchester, New Century Hall
- 2 Aug – 4 Aug – Kendal Calling Festival, Tim Peaks Diner
