It has been a while, but the highly-acclaimed collective Archive from south London is coming back. After their last studio album The False Foundation released in 2016, there is now a new album. Recorded at RAK Studios in London and produced by Jérome Devoise, Call To Arms & Angels is a 17 track double album and will be released on April 29th.
Call To Arms & Angels is an album with many contrasts, with songs like “Mr. Daisy” being a more guitar-driven rock song and “Shouting Within” a song with simplicity sung beautifully by vocalist Holly Martin. “Daytime Coma”, the first single that was released in September of last year takes you on a 14-minute long haunting but immersive journey. Some of the parts are even almost hypnotizing. Still, the dark undertone, characteristic of Archive, can be heard throughout the album. Lyrically the album has been influenced by the worldwide events in the past years, reflecting the daily struggles through health, wellbeing, and individual socioeconomic circumstances.
“Fear There & Everywhere” is one of the strongest tracks on the album. Musically it’s moody and catchy. I think that after the past two years almost everyone can relate to the lyrics. This is what Archive’s founding member Darius Keeler has to say about the song:
“‘Fear There & Everywhere” is a song that we had the title for way before we wrote the song. I think subconsciously we were waiting for the right moment to reflect the period we’ve all been living through. The last two years have been unbearably dark in so many ways and I think it’s very difficult for people to know where to turn. We wanted the message in the song to be direct and raw and I think the video perfectly reflects that.”
Another song that stood out to me is the electronic track “We Are The Same”. The band explains, “It represents how we’re trapped in a societal divide, seeing things we hate in others and being unable to recognize them in ourselves. We’re all different, but we’re all the same when we conform.” Watch the video here:
Along with the album, the band has also worked on a biographical documentary called Super8: A Call To Arms & Angels, which premiered April 2nd on Moment House. It covers the making of the album during a remarkable period with the global pandemic and the restrictions that came with it, the creative process of writing and also reflecting on the 25-year history of the band – all shot on a super 8 camera.
The band will be out supporting their new album, having announced a European tour later this year.
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Tracklisting ‘Call To Arms & Angels’ – CD
CD1
1 Surrounded By Ghosts
2 Mr Daisy
3 Fear There And Everywhere
4 Numbers
5 Shouting Within
6 Daytime Coma
7 Head Heavy
8 Enemy
9 Every Single Day
CD2
1 Freedom
2 All That I Have
3 Frying Paint
4 We Are The Same
5 Alive
6 Everything’s Alright
7 The Crown
8 Gold
