Andy Stott - Never The Right Time

It’s been a decade since Andy Stott released ‘Passed Me By’, a radical re-imagining of dance music as an expression of “physical and spiritual exhaustion” (Pitchfork). What followed was a process of rapid remodelling: ‘We Stay Together’ (2011 / slow and f*cked, for the club), ‘Luxury Problems’ (2012 / greyscale romance), ‘Faith In Strangers’ (2014/ destroyed love songs), ’Too Many Voices’ (2016 / 4th world Triton shimmers) and ‘It Should Be Us’ (2019 / the club, collapsed) - a run of releases that gradually untangled complex ideas into a singular, chaotic body of work - somewhere between sound-art, techno and pop.

In early 2020 - with a new album almost done and an offer to produce for a mainstream artist on the table - personal upheaval brought everything to a sudden standstill. Months of withdrawal eventually triggered a different approach. recording hours of raw material; slow horns, sibilance, delayed drums, wondering flutes - whatever, whenever. 

With vocals recorded by Alison Skidmore, the album was finally completed late last year- taking on a different shape. Its songs were desolate, melancholy, defiant, beautiful - often all at once. The sounds echoed music around Stott during those months: Prince, Gavin Bryars, A.R. Kane, Bohren & der Club of Gore, Robert Turman, Cindy Lee, Leila, Catherine Christer Hennix, Junior Boys, László Hortobágyi, Nídia, Prefab Sprout - the unusual /  the familiar.

Echoing that mix of new and old, each of the songs on ’Never The Right Time’ seem woven from the same thread despite following different trajectories; from the lovelorn shimmer of opener ‘Away not gone’, to the clattering linndrum pop of ‘The beginning’, through ‘Answers’ angular club haze, and the city-at-night end-credits ‘Hard to Tell’. These are songs fuelled by nostalgia and soul searching, but all hold true to a vision of music making as a form of renewal and reinvention.

A 10 year cycle, complete.

Cool.

Not a huge fan of his last one, but this sounds like something completely different.

Nice, I was wondering when we'd hear news of the new album. Liking this new track on first listen. 

description suggests the album's gonna be more that slower tone shown in the track, which may work really well. track's pretty lovely on first listen, the way that bass detunes as it's dropping out at 3:08 is just dirty.

Yes, please!

STOTT

Beautiful stuff.

Track's nice alright but not buying that promo copy's circle-of-creation fluff.  Placing bets that it'll sound like Faith In Strangers and Too Many Voices (as this track already does).  Even the cover says so.

Also Mother's back in the mix, so start warming up your euphoniums dudes (doots)

I loved his (slow)techno stuff but then he kinda lost me after Luxury Problems. It Should Be Us was nice tho.

That being said, the single is somewhat meh. But it's admirable he didn't get stuck doing the same thing over and over again I guess.

can't say i'm excited to have the female singer back - but he always brings the goods.

i thought it should be us was one of his best. very much looking forward to this.

Yea agree with all of that ^
 

And that write up is a bit much but I’ll always take some new Andy. I played the shit out of the last one. 

is it wierd that the first thing i was excited for was 'what black and white image will he put on the cover this time'? it doesnt disappoint tho, lush image

track is really nice. stott is consistently fresh.  Too Many Voices is probably my favorite lp of his, and the preview track sounds like it picks up on that vein rather than It Should Be Us

Instabuy

Apparently there might be a bonus white label included. A few months back Modern Love tweeted about it
 

Wonder which 'mainstream artist' Andy was asked to produce?

Katy Perry?

  On 3/24/2021 at 1:12 AM, markedone said:

is it wierd that the first thing i was excited for was 'what black and white image will he put on the cover this time'? it doesnt disappoint tho, lush image

Funny, for me it’s my least favorite so far.

I loved It Should Be Us. Not too crazy about this track but I'm looking forward to hearing the rest

New song sounds like Andy Stott doing the cure mixed with 90s shoegazy singing 

Great first track! Curious as to what the rest is

Always curious to hear what he has up his sleeve, I will certainly be listening to this

looking fwd to this. I like the vocalist. Zebra Ass was his best in years, even from someone who liked the preceding two albums and generally always enjoys his output.

Well, listening through his back catalogue during work today... and Faith In Strangers totally slays.

Forever trying to restrict my spending... but I know I will end up with this new album in my collection at some point.

  On 3/29/2021 at 11:18 AM, Soloman Tump said:

Well, listening through his back catalogue during work today... and Faith In Strangers totally slays.

I've also been listening back and Faith in Strangers is still the strongest album imo

The first two tracks are such a great start; Time Away builds tension and then Violence picks it up and sounds like it is bursting at the seams.  The album has great flow throughout.  How it Was might be my favorite stott track.  Damage is the only track that nearly misses the mark for me.  But then Faith in Strangers totally redeems it with that raw bass line that flows through the body.

Yeah I only own Faith.. I really love pretty much all this guy puts out tho. Not totally blown over by first single tho

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I'll take whatever Stott puts out.

https://www.nts.live/2 

now