SPIRITUAL FRONT release new single
‘How Soon Is Now?’
taken from forthcoming THE SMITHS tribute album
“THE QUEEN IS NOT DEAD”
SPIRITUAL FRONT reveal the track ‘How Soon Is Now?‘ as the second single taken from the Italian suicide pop instigators’ forthcoming THE SMITHS tribute album “The Queen Is Not Dead“, which is scheduled for release on July 21, 2023.
‘How Soon Is Now?‘ has probably earned the title of “best known THE SMITHS song” also due to a LOVE SPIT LOVE cover of the track ending up as the theme song for all eight seasons of the popular US-TV series “Charmed”. The composition of singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr began its successful career as the B-side of THE SMITHS’ 1984 single ‘William, It Was Really Nothing’, but then ended up on the album “Meat Is Murder” (1985) and subsequently got released as a single twice, reaching the UK Singles Chart at #24 in 1985 and at #16 in 1992. There have been several cover versions of ‘How Soon Is Now?‘ – including insular doom pioneers PARADISE LOST, and Russian pop act t.A.T.u., who released it with their Eurovision Song Contest entry.
SPIRITUAL FRONT comment: “If there was an official anthem of juvenile mal de vivre, it would be ‘How Soon Is Now?’ for sure”, Simone Salvatori muses. “Melancholic, touching, and stunning – but also tragically perfect: this song describes the unease of an entire generation in just a few lines. It does so without being annoying or mincing words. These are sharp words, words that describe a radical and suave sense of not belonging without frills. They contain so much: the will to be loved, a request for help, an absence that needs to be filled, the inability to adapt to a deaf and hostile world, and a life that should be lived intensely again. Marr’s guitar playing on this track is already legendary. From the first note, it makes psychedelic, sinuous moves, over almost tribal textures of Rourke and Joyce, and builds layer upon layer, until is builds the perfect foundation of an epochal, unique song. ‘How Soon Is Now?’ remains carved in all our hearts.”
Tracklist
1. Still Ill
2. Ask
3. There Is a Light that Never Goes Out
4. How Soon Is Now?
5. This Charming Man
6. Girl Afraid
7. Panic
8. Bigmouth Strikes Again
9. Girlfriend in a Coma
10. The Boy with the Thorn in His Side
11. Barbarism Begins at Home
12. What Difference Does It Make?
13. Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want
14. Shoplifters of the World Unite
15. The Queen Is Dead
“The Queen Is Not Dead” is not your average SPIRITUAL FRONT album, but then again, nothing about the Italian suicidal pop outfit has ever been lukewarm or middle of the road anyway. In fact the eighth studio full-length from the Romans is “a homage to Morrissey’s and Johnny Marr’s legendary hymns of unquestionable beauty”, according to Simone Salvatori. The band’s founder and frontman claims THE SMITHS as a major musical inspiration for every member of SPIRITUAL FRONT.
With THE SMITHS carved so deeply into the Romans’ collective heart that they had played full shows featuring the English rockers’ classic hymns in recent years, it was only a short step to record a full tribute album when taking a break from touring. SPIRITUAL FRONT went about their task with the explicit aim to pay a respectful homage yet at the same time to stay away from cloning. Across the album’s fifteen tracks, which many consider sacred, the Italians stayed true to the original recordings, while pulling those songs closer to the sonic world of SPIRITUAL FRONT for example by adding strings and horn parts.
Salvatori and his fellow band members, guitarist Francesco Conte and Andrea Freda on drums, are joined by bass player Daniele Raggi, a string sextet and a horn player as well as a plethora of contributions by friends, among others including vocalist Durga McBroom (PINK FLOYD, BLUE PEARL), Riccardo Galati, Filippo Marcheggiani (BANCO DEL MUTUO SOCCORSO), Michal Stepien (MGŁA), Jairo Zavala (CALEXICO), King Dude, Traci Danielle (MY LIFE WITH THE THRILL KILL KULT), Riccardo Spilli (IL BALLETTO DI BRONZO) and Sasha Boole (ME AND THAT MAN).
Formed in 1999 as the solo project of Salvatori, SPIRITUAL FRONT have since released numerous full-length albums, singles, EPs and collaborations. The Italians describe their sound as “catchy ballads for heartbreaker nihilist youth”. While the band started out in an experimental dark neofolk context, they quickly added elements of neoclassic, rock, melancholic folk, and notably also tango. Their transformed sound has led to comparisons with NICK CAVE, SWANS, and SCOTT WALKER, while the terms ‘nihilistic suicide pop’ or just ‘suicide pop’ have also become established.
Lyrically, SPIRITUAL FRONT have dealt with themes such as searching for self-identity, sexuality, harsh realities and angry break-ups, which are often tinted with sarcasm, nihilism, and a biting sense of humour. Furthermore, the Italians have collaborated with renowned artists such as LYDIA LUNCH, ORDO ROSARIUS EQUILIBRIO, and many others, while also contributing to the soundtracks of the TV series “Las Vegas” and the motion picture “Saw 2” as well as further independent films, theatre productions, and modern ballet.
SPIRITUAL FRONT are paying a heartfelt tribute to the artists, who have accidentally composed the soundtrack of their lives, forever bonding their greatest emotions to notes and words. This is what THE SMITHS have been to the Romans and now they let the world share in their deepest musical love.
Release date: July 21, 2023
Style: Suicide Pop
Label: Prophecy Productions
Current line-up
Simone Salvatori – vocals, acoustic guitar
Francesco Conte – electric guitar
Andrea Freda – drums
Recording line-up
Simone Salvatori – vocals, acoustic guitar
Francesco Conte – electric guitar
Daniele Raggi – bass
Andrea Freda – drums
Guest musicians
Maria Cerreto – violin
Elisabetta Cananzi – violin
Valentina Moriggi – violin
Michela Marchiana – violin
Maria Taglioni – viola
Claudio Aiello – cello
Rino Pecorelli – horn
Special guests
Riccardo Galati – slide guitar on track 3, xylophone on track 9, ukulele on track 13
Filippo Marcheggiani (Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso) – lead slide guitar on tracks 4, 12
Durga McBroom (Pink Floyd vocalist) – backing vocals on tracks 7, 8, 10
Michal Stepien (bassist for Mgla): backing vocals on track 7
Jairo Zavala (Calexico): pedal steel guitar on track 2, lead guitar on track 8
King Dude – backing vocals on track 8
Traci Danielle (My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult) – backing vocals on 9, 12
Riccardo Spilli (Il Balletto Di Bronzo) – percussions
Sasha Boole (guitarist for Me And That Man) – banjo & harmonica
Strings recorded at Studio 111 Cerveteri
Drums and bass recorded by Igor Pardini at Cubo Rosso Recording Studio, Rome
Acoustic guitars recorded by Mauro Munzi at The Shelter Room
Electric guitars, piano, percussion, vocals & backing vocals recorded by Francesco Conte at The Shelter Room, Rome
Mixed by Steve Lyon at The Panic Button Studios, London
Mastered by Gianni Vallino at Karibu Mastering Studio, Ala di Stura, Tuscany
Cover painting by Riccardo Beson
Graphics & layout by Marco Soellner
Links
www.spiritualfront.com
www.facebook.com/spiritualfrontofficialpage
www.instagram.com/spiritualfrontofficialpage
Shop link
http://lnk.spkr.media/spiritual-front-queen
Available formats
“The Queen Is Not Dead” is available as 48-page hardcover 2CD artbook, as a gatefold light green vinyl 2LP plus 7″, gatefold marble green and black vinyl 2LP plus 7″, a gatefold black vinyl 2LP plus 7″, and as a Digipak CD.
