Frank Turner has announced a new album called No Man's Land, which is due out August 16 through Xtra Mile Recordings/Polydor Records.
As the title suggests, the record hears Turner celebrating underrated female figures from the past and telling stories that "should have been told already,"
The album was produced by Catherine Marks and features an all-female backing band, and each song pays homage to a woman Turner believes should be better known.
Amongst those receiving tributes are Byzantine princess Kassiani, Egyptian activist Huda Sha'arawi, CPR dummy inspiration Resusci Anne, Deep South serial killer Nannie Doss, WWII Free France fighter Nica Rothschild, British landlady accused of witchcraft Jinny Bigham, Wild West vaudeville performer Dora Hand who was shot by an outlaw, and even Turner's own mother.
The first single, though, is a tribute to Sister Rosetta Tharpe (who was inducted into the Early Influences wing of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year). "Sister Rosetta" even hears Turner trying to lift riffs from Tharpe's original work, which he admits was a struggle "because she's a way better guitar player than me."
See the full tracklisting for No Man's Land and listen to "Sister Rosetta" below.
"It's not telling anyone what to do or how to live or how to be," Turner said in a statement. "If there was a crowded field of people writing songs about Princess Kassiani then I would see the argument for me bowing out, but there isn't. No one else is writing these songs right now. That's why I want to share these stories."
Additionally, Turner has launched a podcast dubbed Tales from No Man's Land, which will delve into each song on the album to give more context and further honour the women who inspired the tracks.
No Man's Land:
1. Jinny Bingham's Ghost
2. Sister Rosetta
3. I Believed You, William Blake
4. Nica
5. A Perfect Wife
6. Silent Key
7. Eye of the Day
8. The Death of Dora Hand
9. The Graveyard of the Outcast Dead
10. The Lioness
11. The Hymn of Kassiani
12. Rescue Annie
13. Rosemary Jane
As the title suggests, the record hears Turner celebrating underrated female figures from the past and telling stories that "should have been told already,"
The album was produced by Catherine Marks and features an all-female backing band, and each song pays homage to a woman Turner believes should be better known.
Amongst those receiving tributes are Byzantine princess Kassiani, Egyptian activist Huda Sha'arawi, CPR dummy inspiration Resusci Anne, Deep South serial killer Nannie Doss, WWII Free France fighter Nica Rothschild, British landlady accused of witchcraft Jinny Bigham, Wild West vaudeville performer Dora Hand who was shot by an outlaw, and even Turner's own mother.
The first single, though, is a tribute to Sister Rosetta Tharpe (who was inducted into the Early Influences wing of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year). "Sister Rosetta" even hears Turner trying to lift riffs from Tharpe's original work, which he admits was a struggle "because she's a way better guitar player than me."
See the full tracklisting for No Man's Land and listen to "Sister Rosetta" below.
"It's not telling anyone what to do or how to live or how to be," Turner said in a statement. "If there was a crowded field of people writing songs about Princess Kassiani then I would see the argument for me bowing out, but there isn't. No one else is writing these songs right now. That's why I want to share these stories."
Additionally, Turner has launched a podcast dubbed Tales from No Man's Land, which will delve into each song on the album to give more context and further honour the women who inspired the tracks.
No Man's Land:
1. Jinny Bingham's Ghost
2. Sister Rosetta
3. I Believed You, William Blake
4. Nica
5. A Perfect Wife
6. Silent Key
7. Eye of the Day
8. The Death of Dora Hand
9. The Graveyard of the Outcast Dead
10. The Lioness
11. The Hymn of Kassiani
12. Rescue Annie
13. Rosemary Jane
