The Vibe
- Aug 2, 2019
- 6 min read

The Membranes announce tour with Mark Lanegan, & new video for 'What Nature Gives… Nature Take Away'

"A game changer…a ridiculous and mesmerising overload of the sense and already a contender for album of the year" – The Quietus

"The weirdest post-punk, psychedelic, ecological video we’ve seen in a long time, and it’s made by bona fide punk lifers... The Membranes are enjoying their highest accolades in their history with What Natures Gives… Nature Takes Away" – Alternative Press

"A quintessential UK post-punk group, making angular, wiry, mutant pop with a wicked sense of humor... this really is as sprawling and ambitious as its subject matter, swinging from the band’s post-punk roots to epic prog and back again, with orchestration, sampled sound bites and more" – Brooklyn Vegan

"Amazing in its beauty and violence and a 20 piece choir that lifts it into another realm after four decades the Membranes have released their greatest album" – Classic Rock 9/10

"An extraordinary comeback" – NME

British post-punk pioneers The Membranes have announced their upcoming European tour supporting Mark Lanegan in support of their new album 'What Nature Gives… Nature Takes Away', out now on Cherry Red Records, which has already drawn ‘best of the year so far’ accolades from press and radio outlets on both sides of the Atlantic. The band’s new opus is the brainchild of frontman, music journalist, author and media pundit John Robb, who has led Membranes in one form or another for close to 40 years.

This will be The Membranes most extensive ever touring schedule. A long time supporter of John Robb and The Membranes, Mark Lanegan remixed the band’s 2015 track 'Dark Energy' and was one of the new album’s earliest enthusiasts, noting “this might be even better than ‘Dark Energy’, it’s fucking insane! Another masterpiece".

The tour kicks off on November 11 in Copenhagen and runs through to December 18 in Belfast. It include some auspicious UK dates including the band’s hometown at Manchester O2 and the legendary Roundhouse in London and over two dozen shows across Europe and the UK. The band will be headlining multiple UK dates ahead of touring with Lanegan.

The band also present their new psychedelic trip of a video for 'What Nature Gives... Nature Takes Away', the album's title track, created in Berlin by Danielle de Picciotto and her husband Alexander Hacke of Einsturzende Neubauten.

About the new video, John Robb says, "Danielle really captures the theme of the song - which is about the transient nature of life and the beauty and cruelty of nature, the hunter and the hunted and the powerful erotic undertows that affect plants and animals! The album has been a game changer for the band and is our most successful yet and is the favourite album of the year for the likes of Mark Lanegan who offered us his autumn tour of Europe which will be great as Lanegan is one of the small coterie of singers we are truly entranced by and a true punk rock spirit."

Foreshadowed by the singles 'A Strange Perfume', 'A Murmuration of Starlings on Blackpool Pier' and ‘Black Is The Colour’, this dark and brooding double album features psychedelic post-punk soundscapes from the Manchester-based postpunk pioneers, who originally hail from Blackpool. This is their eighth studio album overall and the second since they reformed in 2010 when former support band My Bloody Valentine convinced them to return to the stage for the ATP festival.

'What Nature Gives… Nature Takes Away' is a diverse work with dark, brooding cinematic choir-driven songs about the beauty and violence of nature. With intriguing conceptual overtones, ambitious musical scope and contributions from the 20-piece BIMM choir, naturalist Chris Packham, punk icon Jordan, revered folk singer Shirley Collins and fellow post-punk veteran Kirk Brandon (Theatre Of Hate), the album has captured imaginations across the modern music spectrum. In the UK the band has received radio play and features from BBC 6 Music, including a Marc Riley session, while also charting with NACC in the USA and Canada.

The album was recorded at 6DB Studio in Manchester with Ding Archer, formerly band member with PJ Harvey, The Pixies and producer of the last nine albums by The Fall. John Robb wrote all the parts for the choir. This release follows up their acclaimed album ‘Dark Matter/Dark Energy’, the band's best selling release, which received rave reviews and ample radio play on BBC 6 Music and internationally.

Formed in 1978 in Blackpool, The Membranes played classic bass-driven northern post punk and were part of the same world as bands like The Fall, Sisters Of Mercy, Echo and The Bunnymen and Cabaret Voltaire, all inspired by 1977 to launch their own idiosyncratic journeys. The band released a remarkable series of records that combined their small town frustration with a love of heavy bass and distortion. This ultimately became a prime influence and the precursors to such American noiseniks as Steve Albini, Swans and Sonic Youth.

John Peel and music press favourites, a continual frenzy of releases, public acclaim and touring worldwide with national TV appearances, the band went on hiatus in 1990 until finally reforming in 2010.

The Membranes are Peter Byrchmore (guitar), Nick Brown guitar), Rob Haynes (drums), and John Robb (vocals and bass), a renowned TV and radio pundit, editor of Louder Than War, a key UK music site and national magazine, and curator of the Louder Than Words festival. In autumn, John Robb will also will release 'The Art Of Darkness', a book on the darker side of post punk, adding to his collection of best selling books on punk rock.

'What Nature Gives … Nature Takes Away' is available on vinyl and CD, and digitally everywhere, including iTunes and Spotify. There is also a deluxe double vinyl ultra limited edition of 150 copies. Very soon, cosmetics company Lush will also be releasing a Membranes perfume called ‘A Strange Perfume’ after the album's opening track. Tickets for upcoming tour dates can be found at http://bit.ly/31fBNtp.

TRACK LIST 1. A Strange Perfume 2. What Nature Gives … Nature Takes Away 3. A Murder of Crows 4. The City is an Animal (Nature Is Its Slave) 5. The 21st Century Is Killing Me 6. Deep In The Forest Where The Memories Linger 7. Black is The Colour 8. A Murmuration of Starlings on Blackpool Pier 9. Mother Ocean/Father Time 10. The Magical and Mystical Properties Of Flowers 11. Snow Monkey 12. Demon Seed/Demon Flower 13. The Ghosts of Winter Stalk This Land 14. Winter (The Beauty and Violence of Nature) 15. Nocturnal 16. Pandora’s Box

CREDITS John Robb - vocals and bass Peter Byrchmore - guitar Rob Haynes - drums Nick Brown - guitar Claire Pilling - choir conducter BIMM choir - vocals on tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 13, 16 Chris Packham on 'Winter (The Beauty and Violence of Nature)' Kirk Brandon on 'The Magical and Mystical Properties Of Flowers' Shirley Collins on 'A Murmuration Of Starlings on Blackpool Pier' Jordan on 'Demon Seed/ Demon Flower'

TOUR DATES **implies Membranes dates without Mark Lanegan Aug 02 Rebellion Festival, Blackpool, UK ** Sept 27 London, UK - The 100 Club (with Folk Devils & The Wolfhounds) ** Oct 11 Glasgow, UK - King Tuts Wah Wah Hut ** Oct 12 Aberdeen, UK - Krakatoa ** Oct 18 Preston, UK - The Ferret (with System of Hate & Ginnel) ** Oct 19 Carlisle, UK - The Brickyard ** Oct 25 Birmingham, UK - Hare & Hounds ** Oct 26 Norwich, UK - Waterfront ** Nov 02 Corby, UK - The White Hart ** Nov 11 Copenhagen, DK – Amager Bio Nov 12 Oslo, NO – Vulkan Arena Nov 13 Malmo, SE – KB Nov 14 Stockholm, SE – Debaser Nov 17 Berlin, DE – Colombia Theater Nov 19 Warsaw, PL – Niebo Nov 20 Prague, CZ – Lucerna Bar Nov 21 Dresden, DE – Scheune Nov 22 Schorndorf, DE – Manufaktur Nov 24 Munich, DE – Strom Club Nov 25 Budapest, HU – Durer Kert Main Hall Nov 26 Zagreb, HR – Tvornica Kulture Nov 27 Milan, IT – Fabrique Dec 01 Lausanne, CH – Les Docks Dec 02 Zurich, CH – Bogen F Dec 03 Koln, DE – Essigfabrik Dec 05 Turnhout, BE – De Warande Dec 06 Hasselt, BE – CC Hasselt Dec 07 Roeselare, BE – De Spil Dec 08 Paris, FR – Le Trianon Dec 10 London, UK – Roundhouse Dec 11 Bristol, UK – SWX Dec 13 Sheffield, UK – Leadmill Dec 14 Edinburgh, UK – Liquid Rooms Dec 15 Manchester, UK – Ritz Dec. 17 Dublin, IE – Button Factory Dec 18 Belfast, N. Ireland – Empire

Hallway photos by Harry Stafford. Studio photos by John Middleham

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