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Photo – Shervin Lainez
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MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA
release stunning sixth studio album
‘The Million Masks of God’
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Image Credit: Shervin Lainez
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Praise for MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA
“Manchester Orchestra’s new album is their most confounding and thrilling work yet, with the most grandiose narrative concepts, production, and arrangements of their career.” – Pitchfork
“Manchester Orchestra forge a newly lush, cinematic sound, unraveling detailed tales of characters with abstractly personal references.” – Altpress
“A Black Mile To The Surface feels richly nuanced, offering up something new on every repeat listen.” – The Line Of Best Fit
“By consciously interrogating everything they do, they’ve created something that doesn’t need a condescending suffix to justify its existence. It’s a new high-water mark for the band, and one well worth the pain to reach.” – Drowned In Sound
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“A record that feels dynamic and vital–while still respecting the band’s legacy so far–The Million Masks of God is astonishing” – DIY Mag
A powerful and fitting addition to a stunning catalogue of music, Manchester Orchestra release their sixth studio album, The Million Masks Of God.
An album that harnesses the unmistakable songwriting prowess of Andy Hull and Robert MacDowell, executing it on a refreshed, grander scale than before, The Million Masks Of God is not simply a return to form by the beloved rock group, but a new set of tales for new and old fans alike to wholly immerse themselves in as a brand new year takes hold.
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Driven by Manchester Orchestra’s refocused approach to creating music, The Million Masks Of God is a record specifically designed to be listened to in sequence, across one sitting. Inspired by their experience scoring their first film (2016’s Swiss Army Man), Hull and McDowell decided to bring this ‘movie-album’ process and structure into the studio.
Helming production themselves alongside previous collaborator, award-winning producer Catherine Marks (Foals, The Killers) and artist/producer Ethan Gruska (Phoebe Bridgers), Manchester Orchestra pushed themselves further than before when it came to the album’s creation.
Thematically, the album serves as both spiritual successor to 2017’s acclaimed record A Black Mile To The Surface, and as a way for the band to process a loss of a figure incredibly close to them. Where A Black Mile… was anchored by the journey of birth to death, The Million Masks Of God stands as a companion piece exploring what comes next.
The lush, cinematic soundscapes built on A Black Mile… in 2017 are expanded upon with beauty here; Manchester Orchestra flourishing in the studio, reinvigorated by new inspiration and influence. Offering up moments of epic catharsis (‘Bed Head’, ‘Keel Timing’) to contrast quieter moments of vulnerability (‘Tender’, ‘Way Back’), The Million Masks Of God doesn’t shy away from plunging itself into a wide range of emotions.
Charting the story of a man who encounters the Angel Of Death, who shows him various scenes from throughout his life, The Million Masks Of God soon took on personal connections for Manchester Orchestra, following the death of McDowell’s dad after a years-long battle with cancer in 2019.
“My dad was a musician and our band’s biggest fan, and I can’t think of a more flattering way to honour him than to let him exist in a form of art he loved so much. It wasn’t shocking to hear what Andy had been writing; the way he writes, the real life around him will always trickle in.”
“For me, the album’s story isn’t just about the figure’s death, but the life. It’s unfortunate but unavoidable: in life, death happens, and it’s been happening forever. We’re figuring out how to exist with grief, but grief hasn’t killed humanity. We have to zoom out and see it as part of life.” Robert McDowell
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The Million Masks of God
Tracklist:
1. Inaudible
2. Angel Of Death
3. Keel Timing
4. Bed Head
5. Annie
6. Telepath
7. Let It Storm
8. Dinosaur
9. Obstacle
10. Way Back
11. The Internet
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Follow MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA
Official Website – Facebook – Twitter
Instagram – YouTube
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AMNPLIFY – DB
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