Subway Sect - We Come As Aliens - new album + download

October 11 will see the release of a new album, We Come As Aliens, from Vic Godard & the Subway Sect. As I await my signed copy in the mail, Vic was kind enough to let me give away an MP3. Have a listen (and download if you'd like) to "Out of Our Zone" below while reading Vic's comments on the new album and his current line-up. There's also a video which serves as a preview of several tracks from the LP, and it sounds really great - fans will not be disappointed. If you're in London there will be a launch gig on October 14 at St. Aloysius Social (NW1) - see the flyer at the bottom of the post.

Vic Godard and Subway Sect - WE COME AS ALIENS
RELEASE DATE 11TH October 2010
CD on Overground Records (UK)

100 signed copies available pre-release
Limited Edition Vinyl on GNU Inc.
For further info contact: myspace.com/vicgodard or facebook.com/vicgodard

Subway Sect - Out of Our Zone from We Come As Aliens:


The SUBWAY SECT are:
Vic Godard - Vocals/Guitar
Mark Braby (The Orchestra Pit) - Bass/Acoustic Guitar
Kevin Younger (Armitage Shanks) - Guitar/Piano/Organ
Gary Ainge (ex-Felt/Gokart Mozart) - Drums/Percussion
Paul Cook (Man Raze, Edwyn Collins, Sex Pistols) - Drums/Percussion
Simon Rivers (Bitter Springs) - Backing Vocals

Rebellion Festival Blackpool – the Sect enter the Winter Gardens and the title ‘We Come as Aliens’ is born. The songs from the album have been evolving since the mid 1990’s, with the exception of Francoise Hardy’s Et Meme, which I have wanted to record since ’77. Some of the tracks have been included in live sets over the years with the various Sects, the oldest being Ne’er which I used to do when Bitter Springs were masquerading as Subway Sect. Takeover, Best Album, Et Meme and That Train have been part of the live set for a while now.

A couple of years ago I recorded a demo of Et Meme and That Train with the Wet Dog Sect. Nothing came of it because the line up changed a couple of times, but once I had Mark, Kev and Gary on board I knew I had the group to record. In 2009 we agreed a vinyl deal and started recording at One Cat Studios. Disaster struck 5 tracks in when Gary’s back went, but then a stroke of luck - Paul Cook was available and willing to finish the album with us, for which I am very grateful. We haven’t listed which tracks Gary and Paul play on as their styles are so distinctive, which is part of what gives this album its unique sound.

Album preview:


About the music - Our sound on this album is based around the beats of Gary Ainge, who loves Northern Soul and 70s music, and Paul Cook, the inimitable West London drummer, whose instantly recognisable style defines the tracks he plays on. Mark Braby, our multi-talented bass and acoustic guitar player brings a wide range of musical influences and talents to the mix. He is currently our live drummer. You can hear that Kevin Younger, who plays guitar, organ and piano, is mad on garage music especially of the sixties variety, (he is also adept at playing obscure theme tunes when least expected). Simon Rivers adds another dimension to the tracks he appears on with his distinctive vocal sound. He also conjured up a superb guitar solo on Back in the Community.

Since’ 76 the Sect has been committed to set discords and melodies to beats, so I am sure it has been a lot of work for all those concerned. We would not have the ‘Best Album’ that we set out to make were it not for Jon Clayton of One Cat Studios, who not only recorded, mixed and helped produce We Come as Aliens but also played percussion and keyboard on a few tracks. The songs are a cross section of material we have been working on at Survival Studios over the last two years, in between rehearsing for gigs. Musical influences come thick and fast - Rotten and Thunders, Chuck and Bo, Ray Charles and Mose Allison, while lyrically this must be the best Subway Sect collection yet.

The ‘We Come as Aliens’ Tour kicks off with a couple of dates at Q-Tres in Barcelona 7th/8th October, and then off to Vic on 9th. Then the WCAA launch event at the St Aloysius Social Club London on 14th, then Compilotheque, Brussels 21, The John Peel Festival Koln on 23rd, then Munster, Berlin, Hamburg, and Hanover 4-7 November, 8 December Idle Fret @ the silver Bullet London, 18th The Railway Southend,, 8 January The Thunderbolt, Bristol and then off to Spain for the Tanned Tin Festival. More dates to come.