MEMBRANES - Dark Matter/Dark Energy [2LP Pink]

Format: 2LP(PINK)
Catalogue No.: LTW032PT
Barcode: 0604565893420
Release Date: 29 Nov 2024
Genre: Punk/Hardcore

Very Limited 2LP Clear Vinyl Edition  and 2LP Pink Teardrop within Black. Both Non-Returnable.

In 2015, Membranes released their first album for 25 years.

It was a critically acclaimed double album about life, death, and the universe. An ambitious work, it became the band's best-selling album in a long and unconventional career. “Dark Matter / Dark Energy” was both the band’s critically acclaimed return and best-selling release and, due to public demand, it is now reissued as a double vinyl album in stunning and experimental, ground-breaking new artwork and packaging. 

The album which will be launched in December with gigs at the Albert Hall in Manchester and Shepherds Bush Empire in London was inspired by Membranes’ John Robb, meeting John Incandela the head scientist from the CERN project at a TEDx talk they were both giving.

Incandela had just completed his work on the Higgs Boson particle project, and Robb became friends with him and other scientists from the project. Their conversations about the universe were mind-blowing, and the album attempted to capture these in musical form.

The band toured the album around the world, supporting The Stranglers, The Sisters Of Mercy, and Mark Lanegan, who called the Membranes one of his favourite all-time post-punk bands and said that ‘John Robb is a legend - I’m truly honored to know him’.

The Membranes were formed in Blackpool in the late seventies and were big John Peel and music press favourites with their innovative bass driven discordant Death To Trad Rock sound providing a template and influence for many bands over the years including Big Black, Mercury Rev, The Wedding Present and even the likes of the Lambchop who covered them. 

John Robb is also a well-known face on TV and radio as well as running the Louder Than War music and culture website and writing best-selling books like ‘Punk Rock - An Oral History’ and ‘The Art Of Darkness - The History Of Goth. He is currently working on his mémoires and a new Membranes album.

The new edition of the album comes in revolutionary and stunning new artwork gatefold sleeve, complete with lyric sheet, and a poster of the original album cover, all of which captures its interstellar themes. 

Tracklist:
Side 1 : 1 The Universe Explodes Into A Billion Photons Of Pure White Light 2 Do The Supernova 3 21st Century Man 4 Money Is Dust
Side 2 : 1 The Multiverse Suite 2 Space Junk 3 Dark Matter 4 If You Enter The Arena You’ve Got To Be Prepared To Deal With The Lions
Side 3 : 1 In The Graveyard 2 Hail To The Lovers 3 Magic Eye (To See The Sky)
Side 4 :  1 5776 (The Breathing Song) 2 Dark Energy 3 The Hum Of The Universe

To coincide with the album's release Membranes, have two gigs.
Saturday 7th December O2 Shepherds Bush Empire (with Chameleons) 
Saturday 14th December The Albert Hall, Manchester (with Chameleons)

Reviews
The Quietus: “a fabulously infernal racket is life-affirming stuff.”

Drowned In Sound: “both cerebral and pile-drivingly uncompromising in its musical and lyrical attack.”

Record Collector: “among Robb and Co’s most sonically sublime recordings to date.”
AllMusic: “they get the sound and attitude right: aggressive, energetic, and more than a little bit insane as the music pounds, slashes, and throbs”