New no-man album "Love You To Bits" out in November

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So far, only confirmed formats are CD & vinyl. Release date is November 22nd on Caroline (Steven's Universal label)
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Auto-buy of course for me, but big disappointment if there’s no 5.1 blu-ray set. Official announcement is supposed to be tomorrow (Thursday) so hopefully it all becomes clear then and the additional format(s) are part of the plan.
 
Official announcement published, no surround. Album wasn't mixed by Steven either. Bummer.
The announcement:
no-man will release Love You To Bits, its first studio album for eleven years on 22nd November 2019. Pre-order now: https://no-man.lnk.to/LoveYouToBitsSo

A gloriously ambitious statement unlike anything in its back catalogue, the album consists of two connected five-part pieces and combines shimmering Pop and pulsating Electronica elements in fresh and surprising ways (incorporating aspects of Fusion, Ambient and much more).

Twenty-five years in the making and lyrically chronicling the aftermath of a relationship from different perspectives, Love You To Bits features poignant melodies, big beats and breathtaking solos that collide with ethereal textures and bold experiments to create the most dynamic and diverse no-man release to date.

Adam Holzman, David Kollar, Ash Soan, Pete Morgan, and the Dave Desmond Brass Quintet guest.

Produced by no-man, the album was mixed by Bruno Ellingham and mastered by Matt Colton.
[MEDIA]
Dave Desmond is the Big Big Train brass guy. Tim Bowness guested on a B-side on BBT's Swan Hunter single, and BBT frontman David Longdon guested on Tim's last solo record; I'm guessing that's how Dave came to be involved. Pretty sure I spotted David Kollar's and Adam Holzman's contributions in the montage.

The montage is intriguing. Sounds like it'll be more in the vein of Wild Opera than Schoolyard Ghosts, which is fine. Tim has been exploring the latter in his solo work (with some collaboration from Steven Wilson). I'm now expecting somewhat of a companion piece to To The Bone here. We shall see (or, rather, hear).
 
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Ordered blue vinyl and a t-shirt. Cos I'm sad. Tim's last one not in 5.1 either, so....
I remember Tim writing in an interview recently that he regretted not having mixed his last album in surround. I was taking for granted that No-man's will get a 5.1 version, but I was wrong.
I guess Steven has got some other priorities now
 
I remember Tim writing in an interview recently that he regretted not having mixed his last album in surround. I was taking for granted that No-man's will get a 5.1 version, but I was wrong.
I guess Steven has got some other priorities now

Wife, step-kids, his own career, deciding whether to do Broadsword or not...
 
I like the previews. Tims latest solo effort is the best he’s ever done, and No-Man using the classic synth popish sound, yes this will be good!
 
The first single is on Spotify now. Listening to it, out of the context of the album, it's just a pop/disco song, nothing special about it. I'm quite dismayed after first listen, honestly.
I know I'll buy the album and will give it a chance, I'm just unsure this is what I was hoping as a new No-man album.
 
The first single is on Spotify now. Listening to it, out of the context of the album, it's just a pop/disco song, nothing special about it. I'm quite dismayed after first listen, honestly.
I know I'll buy the album and will give it a chance, I'm just unsure this is what I was hoping as a new No-man album.

Me too :LOL: It was...just... bit, um, underwhelming? Somehow his voice and electric-pop upbeat-ness didn't mix well for me and gave me, as you stated well, a dismay.
I already per-ordered the album and hopefully I will like other tracks.
 
I received the CD today. It was quite inexpensive compared to my assaults on Discogs, so I took the risk.
First listen to side 1: After 6 minutes of disco beats, I skipped to side 2. Maybe I was not in the right mood, but not my cup of tea.
Side 2: After 2 minutes and a promising start, the disco beat is back.
Off to listen to the new Coldplay, at least this one will get the wife's approval.
More in a few days when I gather courage enough to re-listen.
 
This turned out to be a greatest surprise. Now I looooove the LP.:)

Steven was saying that Prince would produce completely different music and he still loved it. Same thing seemed to happen to me.

First I heard "he's going electronic" and I was like "noooooo!" And when I listened to the single it was "meh". Then, LP is totally different thing. Love the solo, love how one of the song ends with this horn/trumpet. The ebb and flow and all of nine yards.
I guess whatever he touches turns to gold. Yay.
Cannot wait for his concerts.........
 
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I find it fascinating that this release is comprised of certain elements written way back in 1994. They must have a vault-full of sketches and demos that have never seen the light of day.

Like many of No-Man's albums, the first listen for me didn't really push any buttons, as the overall feel was kind of "meh." But after the 2nd and 3rd listen, I find that it's growing on me. That's one of the hallmarks of Steven's music. Repeated listening offers up a deeper understanding.
 
It's not bad. I like bits and pieces of it (pun intended). Literally though, there are one or two of the bits and one or two of the pieces that are quite good but the rest was a bit meh. Maybe it needs more listens.
 
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