Frank Turner Reflects On A Lost Teenage Romance With 'Letters'

03-26-2024

(Clarion Call Media) Frank Turner has shared a lyric video for "Letters," his latest track following "Girl From The Record Shop," "Do One" and "No Thank You For The Music" that is taken from the Friday, May 3 release of Turner's forthcoming album, Undefeated, the follow-up to his acclaimed #1 UK album, FTHC .

"'Letters' is a song that I've been working on for a long time," Turner says. "In some ways, I've been writing it since a genuine pen-friendship of mine dried up when I was a kid, when the mixtapes stopped coming through the post. It's a song about communication and its breakdown, about nostalgia for teenage romance, and about how reassessing those things as an adult can be the start of a healing process."

Additionally, Turner recently announced their upcoming U.S. headline tour for May and June, produced by Live Nation. Kicking off on Thursday, May 23 at XL Live in Harrisburg, PA, Turner's Undefeated Tour will hit markets across the south, midwest, west coast and east coast, and culminate in an appearance at The Fillmore in Philadelphia, PA on Saturday, June 22. The tour will feature support from Amigo the Devil, Bridge City Sinners and Micah Schnabel & Vanessa Jean Speckman in select markets.

The Main Stage artists for Turner's upcoming Lost Evenings VII Festival in Toronto, Ontario from September 19-22 at The Theatre at The Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto have also been announced, which include punk legend Henry Rollins, NOBRO, The Dirty Nil, Bedouin Soundclash, Martha Wainwright, Murder By Death, Northcote and The OBGMs. Weekend passes are officially SOLD OUT and single day tickets are currently on sale.

"Now I'm surprised to report that as I enter my forties, I've returned to being an angry man," Frank Turner sings on the recent track "No Thank You For The Music." And that's a concise statement as to what to expect from the forthcoming Undefeated. Finding the sweet spot between youthful outspokenness and surviving midlife's challenges, Undefeated is a record that explores both emotionally compelling topics and lighter reflections on those troubles that eventually come to most of us: who you are versus who you wanted to be in your youth, life-altering love, fading friendships, wistful nostalgia, the mental fallout and political consequences that still linger from the pandemic era, and the more prosaic issue of persistent backache.

"There are no clichés about the difficult 10th album, so in some ways, that's a liberating statement," he continues. "But at the same time, I have a duty to justify writing and releasing a 10th album. That's a lot of records for anybody. Also, I'm 42. Which is not a sexy, rock'n'roll age. But all through my career, I've been interested in writers like Loudon Wainwright III or The Hold Steady, people who write about adulthood, essentially."

While thematically Undefeated is informed by this time in life, sonically, it's full of echoes to influences that Turner has touched upon at various moments in his kaleidoscopic career. It switches from Black Flag to Counting Crows, from Descendents to The Pogues, via Elvis Costello and Billy Bragg. Its freewheeling nature is reflective not only of his newfound independence, but also of the creative environment he found himself in.

In true DIY spirit, Undefeated represents a new chapter for the punk veteran - the result of Turner's decision to step away from the major label world and re-embrace the liberation of working as an independent artist. Additionally, the album was recorded in the home studio that he and his wife, Jessica Guise, share on Mersea Island, Essex, and was written and produced entirely by himself. It also features his longstanding, loyal bandmates The Sleeping Souls - Ben Lloyd (guitar), Tarrant Anderson (bass), Callum Green (drums) and Matt Nasir (piano).

The release of Undefeated will of course see this punk road warrior tour with the tenacity and intense schedules that he's known for (such as the sprawling 50 States in 50 Days North American tour) but with even bigger ambitions that will be revealed in due course as he nears his 3000th (!) show. But for now, anticipate the new album: a typically energizing, literate, playful and provocative set from a musician who remains Undefeated after a quarter-of-a-century in the game.

Frank Turner will be making the following North American appearances during 2024. Dates below.

MAY
23 - Harrisburg, PA - XL Live (w/ Micah Schnabel & Vanessa Jean Speckman) =
25 - Boston, MA - Boston Calling ~
26 - Huntington, NY - The Paramount *
28 - McKees Rock, PA - Roxian Theatre ^
29 - Detroit, MI - The Fillmore ^
31 - Chicago, IL - Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom ^

JUNE
01 - Minneapolis, MN - Uptown Theater ^
03 - Denver, CO - Summit ^
04 - Denver, CO - Summit ^
05 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot ^
07 - Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo ^
08 - Portland, OR - McMenamins Crystal Ballroom ^
10 - San Francisco, CA - Regency Ballroom ^
11 - San Diego, CA - SOMA ^
12 - Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren ^
14 - Austin, TX - Emo's Austin ^
15 - Dallas, TX - South Side Ballroom ^
17 - Atlanta, GA - Buckhead Theatre ^
18 - St. Petersburg, FL - Jannus Live ^
20 - Greensboro, NC - Piedmont Hall ^
21 - Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live! ^=
22 - Philadelphia, PA - The Fillmore ^

SEPTEMBER
19-22 - Toronto, ON - Lost Evenings VII Festival at The Theatre at the Great Canadian Casino Resort ~

= - Non-Live Nation date
~ - Festival date
* - w/ Bridge City Sinners, Micah Schnabel & Vanessa Jean Speckman
^ - w/ Amigo the Devil, Bridge City Sinners, Micah Schnabel & Vanessa Jean Speckman