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Album Drop – 30/09/19
“Happy Bread (and Cruel Hangovers)”
Hope and Social to release their 6th studio album on the 30th September
SAVE THE DATE! Yep, you heard it here first. The 6th eagerly (meagrely?!) awaited album by Hope and Social is in the can. Recorded, mixed, mastered & sent to the pressing plant.
“What’s it all about then?”
Anonymous – 4chan
This album is all about stories. The stories we return to at the after-show. The stories we tell when we’re staying at people’s houses when we’ve done a Living-Room gig. The stories that still have us in creases and in tears when we relive and retell. The time someone got caught out on a train, the time one of us slept in a hedge, the story of when the interior of the band van was ‘decorated’ with a liquid whose fragrance can only be described as Jack Daniel’s with parmesan, sitting on a clothes horse, changing trousers “behind a curtain”, an outdoor – 5th floor window-ledge shuffle, it’s all there… and more.
“What does it sound like?”
Rich’s Dad
When we started Happy Bread (and Cruel Hangovers), we wanted to make the album that the best bar-band in the world would make. Like if Dexy’s spent 9 months kicking the smugness out of Bon Jovi… then they formed a super-group. We kept coming back to Costello, The Hold Steady, and this (though that was mainly to P!$$ Fletch off TBF.)
Happy Bread (and Cruel Hangovers) sounds like a band in a room… plus some. We ganged on down to our awesome Crypt studio (in Deepest Darkest Yorkshire™), got together in a room, and recorded. Live takes – no edits (often no click track) – to capture the rawness of a live band, to get early takes, to hear the band approaching the material like it’s new. I think we’ve really captured that, sprinkled some fairydust over the top, baked it, and printed it.
Mixed by our very own amazing Ed Waring, and mastered by the awesome Tom Woodhead, Hippocratic Mastering… in short, it sounds reallllly good!
End Capitalism!
(Plz Buy My Album)
How can you get your hands on this wonderful piece of art then? Well, if you know what we’re about, you’ll probably know that we’ll be selling this wondrous musical artwork via our Bandcamp store. It’s quite simply the best way for musicians to sell their music online, and the best way for fans to support the artists you love. Spotify, Apple Music and all the rest are convenient sure (and will follow shortly after our 30th Sept. release), but they’re designed to return all the money to Elton John and Chris Martin. So if you’re all about hipster coffee, indie breweries, the grocers down the road and supporting independent businesses, you should hop on the Bandcamp train.
We’re gonna be releasing…
Glorious Heavyweight Vinyl – Beautiful, Big, Gatefold Artwork – The most inconvenient music format, ideal for those having a mid life crisis. Vinyl will be available for pre-order from the 30th September – orders will be fulfilled once we reach 100 units.
CD – Like the record… but smaller, silver and digital. Gatefold Artwork. Recycled packaging. Guilt free (with every purchase). You’ll be able to Pay What You Want (above manfacturing & postage costs)
Digital Download – Perfectly formed digital files – digital artwork – all the right metadata – choose between high resolution MP3, FLAC, ALAC, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, WAV and AIFF. Also available for free steaming via the lovely Bandcamp App. (Android/iOS) All our digital albums are Pay What You Want – including FREE.
“FREE?! WTF! Why?”
The Internet
Because we think you’re perfectly capable of deciding the value of something for yourself. If you don’t want to pay for our music, can’t afford it right now or if you ain’t sure that you like what we do, we respect that. Fill your digital satchel! We’d much rather that our music has a happy home than sit all alone and worthy on a dusty digital shelf.
If you then love what we do then come to a show, or grab another album and Pay What You Think for that. You can be assured that (because we use Bandcamp) as much as possible from any purchase to us and helps us to keep doing what we do. Your money literally makes this music happen. Also, if you do like what we do then please pass it on to a friend. Send ’em a CD, send ’em them mp3’s, pass them a link. If you like us, please share us. You are our PR team! All we got is You, three chords and a runny nose…
“I listen to MP3s but like to display my support of cool bands on a wall in my home. How can you help?
Man with sculpted beard, Leeds.
We’ve got you covered. Beautiful posters depicting the ridiculous stories from our lives. When? We’ll keep you postered!
“That’s all lovely, but I like gigs!”
The Madding Crowd
And so you should! Gigs are when we get to take our lovingly crafted thing out of the studio, and on the road. Gigs are where we get to meet You, your bezzies and your dog (if you’ve got one). It’s where real connections are made. Not just between You and Us; one of the joys of being in this band is to get to see friendships germinate, grow and evolve between our fans.
And we’re gonna have a launch party – but more on that soon
Come to a show – we’re all frieeeeendlies now!