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WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS

We Were Promised Jetpacks

The More I Sleep The Less I Dream

    The More I Sleep The Less I Dream marks a new chapter in We Were Promised Jetpacks’ career. It’s about going back to the heart of who they are, a high school band that never stopped. It’s about four people who have grown up together, making a conscious choice to keep writing music and seeing where that takes them. Sometimes you have to go back to basics in order to find yourself again. But once you have, then what? It’s one thing to say you want to take a step forward, it’s a much more daunting prospect actually doing so. The More I Sleep The Less I Dream contains the essence of what the band have grown into, both as artists and as people. They’ve taken their experiences, both from their ten years as a touring band and from the changes in their personal lives, and forged them into an album that represents a new phase for the band.

    STAFF COMMENTS

    Barry says: Swooning shoegazey melodies, throbbing bass guitar and those unmistakeable vox, We Were Promised Jetpacks provide a thrilling and multi-faceted listen, dynamic and exciting but eminently listenable. Brilliant stuff.

    TRACK LISTING

    1. Impossible
    2. In Light
    3. Someone Else's Problem
    4. Make It Easier
    5. Hanging In
    6. Improbable
    7. When I Know More
    8. Not Wanted
    9. Repeating Patterns
    10. The More I Sleep, The Less I Dream

    We Were Promised Jetpacks

    A Complete One-Eighty

      We wrote and recorded Enjoy The View in the first 8 months of the pandemic, initially working separately before joining up in the studio to finish the album. We always felt like this album was a chance for us to try some things out and approach writing music together differently than we had done before. After getting back out on the road again we thought it may be fun to revisit some of those songs and take another new approach. So after our mammoth six-week tour of North America finished in April 2022 we decided to have another crack at some of these songs and see where else we could take them. Our idea for this EP was to go into the studio and just see where we went from there… I think making music is just making hundreds of tiny decisions that ultimately give the final feeling and sound of a song. We have absolutely loved playing music and spending more time with Andy Monaghan and jumped at the chance to head into the studio with him and make some different decisions! We also thought it would be great to see where other people could take some of those songs and are so delighted that we’re lucky enough to have Andy, Manchester Orchestra and Zoe Graham put their own spin them and make them something that we could never have done.

      TRACK LISTING

      1. If It Happens (Manchester Orchestra Remix)
      2. Fat Chance (EP Version)
      3. Nothing Ever Changes (Andy Monaghan Remix)
      4. If It Happens (EP Version)
      5. Fat Chance (Zoe Graham Remix)
      6. All That Glittered (EP Version)

      We Were Promised Jetpacks

      Enjoy The View

        Since releasing 2018’s ‘The More I Sleep The Less I Dream’, We Were Promised Jetpacks’ Adam Thompson, Sean Smith and Darren Lackie have embraced change head-on. Amicably parting ways with guitarist Michael Palmer marked a transitory moment in the band’s acclaimed career, one that would be cemented by events to come. Entering 2020 as a trio with a handful of songs written and a small tour under their belts, the world around them came to a sudden halt. Yet despite the unquestionable hardship that the lockdown brought with it, for a band looking to rebuild following a dramatic change, it also proved to be a blessing in disguise. “I guess it ended up being a lot more collaborative between the three of us,” Sean notes of their fifth studio record, ‘Enjoy The View’.

        As well as providing the space to think more broadly about their own roles in the band, isolation also allowed them to approach their collective sound in new ways. “If you’re trying to write a part when two other people are smashing their instruments it’s not the easiest thing,” Adam laughs. “Writing remotely, you could mute parts and work on things in your head. It just gave us a bit more creative freedom to try different things.” With the space to focus on the structure of the songs over what is immediately possible in a practice room, the band shifted gears. “We’ve always considered ourselves a live band more than a studio band,” Darren notes, explaining how the past twelve months have forced a change. “This was more about focussing on making a really great album rather than thinking about how we play it live.”

        Fifteen years into their career, the trio are more focussed than ever. “We are doing this for ourselves and the people who like our music and get something out of it,” Adam gleams, “I’m really excited about being able to show them the new record.” “We’re all very appreciative of the people who are still listening to us,” Darren adds, “it pushes us to keep getting better”.

        TRACK LISTING

        1. Not Me Anymore
        2. Fat Chance
        3. All That Glittered
        4. Don't Hold Your Breath For Too Long
        5. What I Know Now
        6. If It Happens
        7. I Wish You Well
        8. Blood, Sweat, Tears
        9. Nothing Ever Changes
        10. Just Don't Think About It

        Brimming with emotion and passion, this musically strong and assured album sees the unique and identifiable Jetpacks sound now grown and fully galvanised.

        ‘Unravelling’ is a captivating ride of tense excitement, pounding rhythm, huge walls of cavernous guitar and hyperborean beauty, all kept in check by the band’s gifted songwriting skills.

        The album release also sees the addition of a new member to the band in the form of multi-instrumentalist Stuart McGachan. Adam Thompson explains “Stuart is an accomplished keys, piano and guitar player as well as having a lovely little singing voice, and with him we’ve tried to do something a little different. We've known him for ages and played music with him before so we were pretty sure it would work out. It has just been the four of us since 2004, so having someone new with us has been an enjoyable part of the process.”

        TRACK LISTING

        1: Safety In Numbers
        2: Peaks And Troughs
        3: I Keep It Composed
        4: Peace Sign
        5: Night Terror
        6: Disconnecting
        7: Bright Minds
        8: A Part Of It
        9: Moral Compass
        10: Peace Of Mind
        11: Ricochet

        We Were Promised Jetpacks

        In The Pit Of The Stomach

          We Were Promised Jetpacks make their hotly anticipated return with a gripping new album, ‘In The Pit Of The Stomach’ that bears testimony to the poise, control, confidence and vigour the band now command.

          Signing off their debut ‘These Four Walls’ campaign with 'The Last Place You'll Look EP' in April 2010 – and a spectacular North American tour with Jimmy Eat World, We Were Promised Jetpacks decamped to Sigur Ros’ Sundlaugin Studios in the frozen wilds of Iceland to record the new record. “We had been touring the debut album extensively for over two years” says singer Adam, “So we were very excited to get back in the studio and record the follow-up, which we hope demonstrates how much we have progressed as a band.”

          The approach to recording was markedly different this time around, “We recorded the debut album in 8 days with one short tour under our belts - this time around we spent a full three weeks in the studio recording with [live sound engineer] Andrew Bush and made an album that both captures the sound of our live show and is strong start to finish.” Peter Katis (Frightened Rabbit, The National) was also on hand for mixing and additional production duties.

          Armed with the confidence built from their time on the road and firm ideas as to how the new record should sound, ‘In The Pit Of The Stomach’ is emphatically a sustained piece of work full of fiery, muscular and hugely atmospheric epics like (lead single) ‘Medicine’, ‘Picture Of Heath’ and ‘Human Error’ - and impresses with the sheer scale of it’s ambition.

          Post the release of their ‘These Four Walls’ debut in June 2009 (sales of which currently stand at 40,000 worldwide) the band have achieved huge success touring America and Europe, highlights of which include selling out New York’s Williamsburg Music Hall and attracting high-profile support slots for gold-selling US rock bands like Passion Pit and Jimmy Eat World.

          With thunderous live performances matching the power of fellow Scot’s Mogwai and a pop sensibility comparable to that of Foals or Bloc Party, ‘In The Pit Of The Stomach’ proves how WWPJ have stealthily become a fully-fledged rock band - louder, wilder, avidly literate, fiercely melodic, powerfully restrained.


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