Cabaret Voltaire Returns for First New Album in over 20 Years

Listen to Richard H. Kirk's "Vasto" from 'Shadow of Fear'

BY Allie GregoryPublished Aug 19, 2020

English post-punk outfit Cabaret Voltaire — now the solo project of Richard H. Kirk — is returning for its first new material in over 20 years. Kirk will release a new eight-track effort titled Shadow of Fear on November 20 via Mute Records.

Back in 2014, Kirk first began touring the project as a solo act at Berlin's Atonal festival. From there, he began writing new material, strictly avoiding anything sentimental or reductive.

"The mission statement from the off was no nostalgia. Normal rules do not apply. Something for the 21st century. No old material," he explained in a statement.

The resulting body of work was complete around the time that "the weirdness started to kick in" — just before COVID-19 turned the world off its axis.

"Shadow of Fear feels like a strangely appropriate title," Kirk said. "The current situation didn't have much of an influence on what I was doing — all the vocal content was already in place before the panic set in — but maybe due to my nature of being a bit paranoid there are hints in there about stuff going a bit weird and capturing the current state of affairs."

Cabaret Voltaire's last proper studio album was 1994's The Conversation. They remained inactive until Kirk revived the project in 2014. 

Today, Kirk has shared the first taste of Shadow of Fear, with a single titled "Vasto," which you can hear below. There, you can also find the album's tracklisting.



Shadow of Fear:

1. Be Free
2. The Power (Of Their Knowledge)
3. Night Of The Jackal
4. Microscopic Flesh Fragment
5. Papa Nine Zero Delta United
6. Universal Energy
7. Vasto
8. What's Goin' On

Pre-order Shadow of Fear.

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