Modern English share single ‘Long in the Tooth’, their first new music since 2016
Essex-born new wave band Modern English have shared their new single ‘Long in the Tooth’, which marks their first new music since 2016. The song also forms the lead single for their upcoming album, 1 2 3 4, which is yet to receive a confirmed release date.
Over their enduring new wave soundscapes, vocalist Robbie Grey declares, “It’s taken a lifetime, taken a lifetime, taken a lifetime, I’m long in the tooth”. Pairing post-punk guitars with sparkling keys, the song calls back to the band’s heyday in the 1980s, when they produced hits like ‘I Melt With You’.
The song takes its inspiration from the band’s collective experience since they began in 1979, as Grey explains, “Modern English and its journey, both musical and personal, has spread over 40+ years, and ‘Long in the Tooth’ is a song about this part of that journey”.
‘Long in the Tooth’ was particularly inspired by Modern English navigating the modern world: “As we have reached out into the world and all its changes over all those years, it’s a meditation of getting older in a world that still spins in a chaotic and always interesting way.”
The track marks their first new music since the release of their 2016 album, Take Me To The Trees. 1 2 3 4 will form their ninth full-length release and is set to be released in early 2024. It is now available to pre-order. Alongside ‘Long in the Tooth’, the record will feature nine more new songs from the post-punk stalwarts.
The band have already embarked upon the North American leg of the 1 2 3 4 tour – they spent August and early September playing shows across New York, Chicago, Ohio and more. The live dates continue to the end of the month, as Modern English take to more stages across the USA, from Boston to Virginia.
Listen to ‘Long in the Tooth’, the first single from Modern English in seven years, below.
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