If you were on the indie rock internet in the '00s, then you probably remember Patrick Wolf, the London singer and multi-instrumentalist who released a bunch of records of nicely gothy art-pop. Wind In The Wires, from 2005? That was a good record! Wolf hasn't come out with a new LP since 2012's Sundark And Riverlight. He returned in 2022 with his single "Enter The Day" and followed it with 2023's "Nowhere Game." Now, Wolf has announced his first new LP in 13 years.
This spring, Patrick Wolf will release his new album Crying The Neck, which doesn't include "Enter The Day" or "Nowhere Game." The cover art, up above, is pretty sick; I can't believe Wolf still looks like that. Crying The Neck has contributions from people like Zola Jesus, Jarvis Cocker collaborator Serafina Steer, Polar Ber leader Seb Rochford, and Wolf's sister Jo Apps. It's the first of a planned four-album series, and Wolf wrote and recorded it at his home studio in the English coastal town of Ramsgate. On the record, Wolf plays instruments like viola, Appalachian dulcimer, baritone ukulele, kantale, and Atari.
Wolf has apparently gone through a lot in the years since his last album, including addiction, bankruptcy, and injury. He wrote much of the album, including lead single "Dies Irae," while mourning his mother, who passed away from cancer. The title "Dies Irae" is Latin for "The Day Of Wrath," and part of its string arrangement is based on a Latin-mass Medieval Gregorian chant of the same title. Wolf describes the song as "an affirmation of life in the last days of knowing you are about to lose someone you love and a courageous, almost rebellious, choice against the misery to use the time remaining to deepen your love or joy with each other." Below, check out "Dies Irae," the Crying The Neck tracklist, and Wolf's upcoming tour dates.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Reculver"
02 "Limbo" (feat. Zola Jesus)
03 "The Last Of England"
04 "Jupiter"
05 "On Your Side"
06 "Oozlum"
07 "Dies Irae"
08 "The Curfew Bell"
09 "Lughnasa" (feat. Serafina Steer)
10 "Song Of The Scythe"
11 "Better Or Worse"
12 "Hymn Of The Haar"
13 "Foreland"
TOUR DATES:
5/08 - Manchester, UK @ Gorilla
5/10 - Gateshead, UK @ The Glasshouse
5/11 - Glasgow, UK @ St Luke’s
5/13 - Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
5/15 - London, UK @ HERE at Outernet
5/16 - Bristol, UK @ The Lantern
5/20 - Cologne, Germany @ Gebaude 9
5/21 - Hamburg, Germany @ Grunspan
5/22 - Leipzig, Germany @ UT Connewitz
5/23 - Berlin, Germany @ Heimathafen
5/24 - Warsaw, Poland @ Niebo
5/26 - Ghent, Belgium @ Club Wintercircus
5/27 - Amerstam, Netherlands @ Tolhuistuin
5/28 - Paris, France @ Trabendo
5/29 - Zurich, Switzerland @ Dynamo
5/31 - Milan, Italy @ Santeria Toscana 31
6/01 - Bologna, Italy @ Locomotiv
6/03 - Munich, Germany @ Ampere
6/04 - Prague, Czech Republic @ Lucerna Music Bar
6/06 - Vienna, Austria @ Theater Akzent
Crying The Neck is out 4/25 on Apport/Virgin Music.
