The new album by the legendary 4AD act, active in the same core lineup since 1977! In recent years, Modern English have become widely respected as post-punk innovators, thanks to younger gene-rations discovering their catalog and new artists citing the band as an influence. This increased popularity has translated to sold-out tours performing their early albums and a main stage appearance at the 2023 Cruel World Festival in front of more than 25,000 people.
Modern English’s new album – produced by Mario McNulty (David Bowie, Lou Reed, Nine Inch Nails) – retains the in-trinsic spirit of these early, post-punk days and is also a sterling sonic example of what Modern English have always done best. The album encompasses seething songs with punk bite (“Long in The Tooth,” “Plastic”), keyboard-forward melodic rockers (“Not Fake,” “Crazy Lovers”) and simmering, darkwave-meets-post-punk gems (“Exploding,” “Out to Lunch”). The band’s keen sense of dynamics is also evident throughout 1 2 3 4. The album-closing “Voices” is particularly subdued, bolstered by echoing, Doppler-like sound effects and leadsinger Grey’s somber vocals; the effect falls somewhere between spacey psychedelic rock and tranquil shoegaze.
Modern English were one of the first bands signed to the legendary 4AD label. The band’s 1981 debut album, Mesh & Lace, subsequently has become a post-punk touchstone alongside LPs by Joy Division, Wire, and the Chameleons—a dusky, atmospheric collection rooted in scraping guitar riffs, yearning vocals and dark sonic effects.
“It’s been a big journey for everybody, and our early days are really important to us,” Grey summarizes. “We haven’t changed that much. We’re still the same people inside. And the original members are the sound of the band!”

Tracks:
01 Long in the Tooth
02 Not My Leader
03 Not Fake
04 Exploding
05 Plastic
06 Crazy Lovers
07 I know Your Soul
08 Genius
09 Out to Lunch
10 Voices