Edwyn Collins announces new album ‘Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation’

Edwyn Collins has announced his 10th solo album ‘Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation’ – listen to new single ‘Knowledge’ below.

The Scottish musician, producer and former Orange Juice frontman is due to release the 11-track record on March 14 via AED. Pre-order/pre-save here.

Following on from 2019’s ‘Badbea’, the forthcoming LP was recorded at Collins’ Clashnarrow Studio in Helmsdale, North East Scotland. It was co-produced by the singer-songwriter alongside Sean Read and Jake Hutton, both of whom play on the album.

Collins has shared the first preview of ‘Nation…’ in the form of a reflective and personal song titled ‘Knowledge’, where he looks back on being “shy and awkward” as a youngster.

The single contains an admission and a recognition of, “Knowledge is a friend of mine/ First was lost and now it’s found“. Collins also says it’s “so hard to let my old self go“, with this refrain bringing the poetic tune to a close over gospel-tinged backing vocals and horns.

“Knowledge is something I think about. I used to be quite brainy, still am in a way,” Collins explained of his latest offering. “But knowledge is wisdom, combined with all the things you’ve learned. I think, I hope I’ve learned a lot.”

The track is accompanied by an official music video, filmed between Christmas and New Year in Collins’ home village of Helmsdale. It was directed by filmmaker Delbert Anthonio Wright, whom the musician has known since his childhood.

Other songs set to feature on Collins’ new album include ‘Paper Planes’, ‘The Heart Is A Foolish Little Thing’, ‘Sound As A Pound’, ‘A Little Sign’ and ‘Rhythm Is My Own World’.

A press release notes that ‘Nation…’ offers “boundless, life-affirming hope”, with the collection bringing “affirmation, resolution and out-and-out catchiness”.

The record is described as Collins’ “most finely wrought, thought-provoking and frankly hummable set of songs in two decades”, as well as being his “most optimistic” yet.

Additionally, ‘Nation…’ features James Walbourne on guitar, Collins’ son William on bass, Carwyn Ellis on guitar, and Lena Wright and Bianca White on backing vocals. William is also credited as a co-writer of ‘Strange Old World’, with Ellis co-writing ‘The Mountains Are My Home’.

The full tracklist for ‘Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation’ is: 

1.   ‘Knowledge’

2.   ‘Paper Planes’

3.   ‘The Heart Is A Foolish Little Thing’

4.   ‘The Mountains Are My Home’

5.   ‘Strange Old World’

6.   ‘Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation’

7.   ‘Sounds As A Pound’

8.   ‘The Bridge Hotel’

9.   ‘A Little Sign’

10. ‘It Must Be Real’

11. ‘Rhythm Is My Own World’