ShareThe critically acclaimed The Slow Readers Club will follow their 2020 top ten album The Joy Of The Return with the release of their new record Knowledge Freedom Power. The Manchester band launched the album by sharing its lead single and title track.
Nothing, not despots, pandemics, self-destruction or the rise of the machines, can keep a good band down. So, when The Slow Readers Club hit the studio in early 2022 with producer Joe Cross (Hurts / Courteeners), they battled dark times with a refreshing optimism. The result is Knowledge Freedom Power, a sizzling synth-rock beast of a record akin to White Lies, Muse and modern-day Bloc Party, and a rallying cry of emancipation, both stylistically and socially. It’s a righteous punch of the air, a surge towards the future.
Front man Aaron Starkie says, “The world had got so bleak it felt a little indulgent to paint apocalyptic pictures when they were out in the real world. I thought people would probably want to hear more uplifting things; it was my intention to be a bit more positive. There’s still a lot of melodrama in there and it’s still dystopian in places but there’s more positive shades in this record.”
That positivity powers to the fore with the album’s lead single and title track, an instantly addictive hybrid of the band’s new pulsating synth style with their anthemic alt-rock roots. Its streamlined, straight-to-the-point hook highlights the fact that there can be an alternative to a world which is becoming increasingly authoritarian and ignoring the needs of the many in favour of the few.
Aaron adds, “Growing up as a council estate kid in Manchester I was very conscious of having a limited horizon and I guess I had a chip on my shoulder and something to prove. It’s that background that inspired both our band name and the album’s title track Knowledge Freedom Power. It is an exercise in positive sloganeering, a mantra for education as a means of a way out from social and psychological confinement.”
The Slow Readers Club recently announced details of their 2023 headline tour, which will see them take in London, Nottingham, Manchester to name but a few.
TOUR DATES 2023-08-22
October
| Date | Venue |
|---|---|
| Thu 19th | Tramshed Cardiff |
| Fri 20th | O2 Shepherds Bush Empire London |
| Sat 21st | Rock City Nottingham |
| Mon 23rd | Victoria Hall Stoke-on-Trent |
| Tue 24th | Wulfrun Hall Wolverhampton |
| Thu 26th | Barrowlands Glasgow |
| Fri 27th | Town Hall Middlesbrough |
November
| Date | Venue |
|---|---|
| Fri 24th | Yes Manchester |
December
| Date | Venue |
|---|---|
| Fri 1st | Canvas Manchester |
| Fri 8th | New Century Hall Manchester |
Tickets are now on sale
