Former Smiths guitarist's Johnny Marr has announced he will release his second solo album titled 'Playland' on October 6 via Warner.
The works for the follow up to his last year's debut 'The Messenger', commenced in London in the Spring as soon as the year of touring supporting the album came to a close, and finds Marr continuing the creative connection with collaborator and co-producer Doviak as well as the other musicians who performed on the album and accompanying tour.
As Johnny states: “When The Messenger came out I kept on writing. I liked that the band had a momentum going on tour and a connection with the audience, and I thought that energy would be good to capture on the new record.”
Written around a common theme of “songs that move at the speed of life,” ‘Playland’ captures much of the spirit that made ‘The Messenger’ so memorable with energetic, post-punk songwriting complemented by Johnny Marr’s characteristic guitar style, thought-provoking lyrical ideas and poised vocal phrasing. “It’s important to sound like your environment and on this record that’s London and Manchester,” he adds. “The feeling of the cities and the people make it into the music.”
According to the press released, the title ‘Playland’ is inspired by ‘Homo ludens’, a 1938 book by the highly influential Dutch cultural theorist Johan Huizinga which explores the concept of play as a precursor and principal element of cultural development.
The tracklist for 'Playland' is as follows:
01. Back In The Box
02. Easy Money
03. Dynamo
04. Candidate
05. 25 Hours
06. The Trap
07. Playland
08. Speak Out Reach Out
09. Boys Get Straight
10. This Tension
11. Little King
Pre-order your copy here.
