“LIFE LIFTS UP HER SKIRT AND GIVES US A FLASH OF HER MYSTERIES,” SAYS TIM BOOTH, TALISMANIC FRONTMAN FOR MANCHESTER LEGENDS JAMES, OF LA PETITE MORT.

The band’s thirteenth studio album (or twelfth if you count 2010’s two sibling mini-albums as one piece – which we do) is scheduled for release this coming June. LA PETITE MORT displays all the familiar strengths (‘in the moment’ and impulsive but also considered and multi-layered), and sees the group tinkering with sonics to find the spontaneous heart of performance. “‘This record has stretched us,” says bass player Jim Glennie, “and it’s pushed us to new heights in craftsmanship and intensity”.
“Lyrically, most of the songs are infused with death,” reveals Booth. “The death of my Mother, and the death of a friend who I adored. My Mother passed at 90, in my arms, and it was so clearly a birth of some sort. It left me in a state of rapture for quite some time; and that may have some bearing on why this work is uplifting, not mournful.

Being present at birth, for an infant’s first breath, and at death, for a parent’s last one, seemed to me to be the same thing. I thought, ‘my God… if this is dying that’s great. I’ve got that sussed’. Six months later one of the people who I loved the most in the world passed. She was 70 years young and had kept the remission of her cancer from me and other friends. She’d introduced me and my wife to each other eighteen years ago and married us ten years later.
Since then we kept trying to meet up, but there was no rush, we had all the time in the world. We worked out that she was dying from information which came to us in our dreams, so we flew to New York to say goodbye. On arrival we received word it was too late to see her. This inability to say goodbye, to tell her I loved her, has haunted me ever since. It turns out I haven’t got this death thing sussed after all. LA PETITE MORT is my attempt to make some sense of it”.

Despite its thoughtful subject matter the new album is uplifting – in equal parts it is music for the head, the heart and the feet. LA PETITE MORT (the literal translation is “the little death”, though it’s a French euphemism for the post-orgasmic state) rewards deeper listening. The spiritual connectedness of all human experience – specifically the euphoria surrounding birth, death and sex – is examined across ten tracks including teaser FROZEN BRITAIN and single MOVING ON.
In this edition of The Mouthcast, Jim Glennie (a founding member of the group) talks about the situations which influenced the writing and recording of the new album. He also reflects on the band’s past work with legendary producer Brian Eno – and how those experiences “opened a door” into a new way of thinking about their music… 

James’ new album LA PETITE MORT will be released on 2nd June. An advance download of track FROZEN BRITAIN is available when the album is pre-ordered here. The single MOVING ON will be issued on 28th April. James are scheduled to play various festivals through the summer – including T In The Park in Scotland, Latitude in Suffolk and Camp Bestival in Dorset. The band will announce further tour dates soon. Check here for more details.

{  thanks to HW  }