Sometimes, it’s good to get back to basics. But for Manchester act A Certain Ratio this means entering rather uncharted territory.
The band have undergone many transformations in their 45-year career, initially adding brass and dance moves to their post-punk sound, dovetailing their intersection with Joy Division and The Fall with Talking Heads and Grace Jones, and even having Madonna open for them.
Now, their thirteenth studio album It All Comes Down To This appears a year after acclaimed previous release 1982 and is further evidence of a band determined to evolve at every turn.
It’s also the first time they have recorded as just the core threesome of principal, long-serving band members – multi-instrumentalists Jez Kerr, Martin Moscrop and Donald Johnson.
“It’s the Ratio removing the safety net,” Kerr says, explaining the decision to return to the band’s base ingredients.
“It wasn’t a matter of rubbing everyone else out, it was, ‘let’s find the thing that makes us work’,” adds Johnson. “And we know that’s just the three of us being as basic as possible – no frills, no major overdubs. Just visceral and happening in the moment.”
The other essential difference between It All Comes Down to This and its immediate predecessors is the recording process, the band turning to Mercury-nominated producer Dan Carey (Black Midi, Kae Tempest). Known for his rejection of sonic clutter, Carey’s instincts closely aligned with ACR’s desire to return to the basics.
And if there is a residual darkness in the album’s sonic aesthetic, then it pervades the subject matter, too.
“We wrote the album while the world was in turmoil,” explains Moscrop. “Which it still is… climate change, corporate war, the environment, the Ukraine war, Israel and Palestine, it really does all come down to this. It’s probably the most political album we’ve written.”
In addition, Jez Kerr was dealing with specific personal darkness after an accident left him with a broken pelvis and fractured hip, before contracting septic arthritis, ultimately delaying the album by six months and inevitably dictating the album’s mood.
Far from deterred, though, the trio have come through with a renewed mission statement, and, joined on bass by Viv Griffin, embark on an extensive UK spring tour. They intend to play the album in its entirety, as well as reworking many past tracks – a band proud of their past.
This article originally appeared in the Blackpool Gazette.
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