Earlier this year, Nottingham indie luminaries Tindersticks headed into Abbey Road to record new versions of tracks from across their back catalogue in celebration of the band turning 21.
The resulting album is Across six leap years, which is out on October 14 via City Slang and the band’s own Lucky Dog label, and we’ve got a first spin of the record – have a listen below:
Says the band’s David Boulter: "Recording these songs again was not so much about righting past mistakes or inadequacies, but more about the power of now. It’s something that’s been growing since the film shows, something that made us recognise how we feel now, and connecting that to our past feels important.
"Walking up to Abbey Road, it could easily have overcome us. But it had nothing to do with its past. We weren’t there to take photos on the crossing. I didn’t think about playing the ‘Lady Madonna’ piano. I’d like to say it was just another studio, but sadly, that’s not true anymore. It’s one of the only studios of its kind left. And it wasn’t about our past either. These songs feel like cover versions. Someone else’s music we feel we had something new to bring to.
"Abbey Road could have been a big slap on the back or a big punch in the face. But it felt natural. It’s where we should be. It’s important that we got here and to give ourselves some credit. It’s also important to give these songs a new life. More fun than a greatest hits album. Twenty one years of Tindersticks. This isn’t a selected highlights. It just shows how far we’ve come."
Scroll down to the foot of the page for a video of the band recording ‘Say Goodbye To The City’, originally on their 2003 album Waiting For The Moon, in Abbey Road’s Studio 2.
They’ll also be marking the anniversary with a European tour, beginning later this month. Have a look at the dates below, which you can book tickets for over at the band’s website, and head to City Slang to pre-order the album:
OCTOBER
Sat 19 – Big Band Cafe, Hérouville-Saint-Clair, France
Sun 20 – Carre Sevigne, Rennes, France
Mon 21 – Olympia, Paris, France
Tue 22 – Cirque Royale, Brussels, Belgium
Thu 24 – Vicar St, Dublin
Fri 25 – The Barbican, London
Sun 27 – Koncertsalen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Mon 28 – Admiralspalast, Berlin, Germany
Tue 29 – Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Thu 31 – BARTS – Barcelona Jazz Festival, Barcelona, Spain
NOVEMBER
Fri 1 – Joy Eslava, Madrid, Spain
sat 2 – Coliseu Dos Recreios, Lisbon, Portugal
