If you’re like us, you were probably greeted this morning by a gazillion excited news pieces about David Bowie emerging from the self-imposed retirement in which he spent most of the last decade and releasing a new album! New tidbits of information have been leaking out overnight and this morning, so we thought we’d make it easy on you and collect every little detail we know about the record right here for your convenience. Click through and get the lowdown on the single most exciting announcement of the year thus far!
– The album is called The Next Day. It was announced just after midnight last night via Bowie’s newly designed website.
– The Next Day will be Bowie’s 30th studio album, and his first since 2003’s Reality.
– As per the official press release, it was recorded in New York and produced by Tony Visconti, who’s produced many of Bowie’s records, including Space Oddity, Low, “Heroes”, Scary Monsters, and Heathen.
– It’s preceded by a single entitled “Where Are We Now?” — a rather reflective ballad that recalls “Thursday’s Child” from ‘Hours…’ and is available now via iTunes.
– The single is REALLY GOOD.
– The single comes with a video directed by Tony Oursler, which you can see here.
– The album is due out on March 13 via Bowie’s own label, Iso Records. It’s distributed via Sony imprint Columbia.
– There will be two versions of the album — a standard version and a deluxe version with three extra tracks. The tracklist for the standard version is as follows:
1. “The Next Day” 2. “Dirty Boys” 3. “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)” 4. “Love Is Lost” 5. “Where Are We Now?” 6. “Valentine’s Day” 7. “If You Can See Me” 8. “I’d Rather Be High” 9. ‘Boss Of Me” 10. “Dancing Out In Space” 11. “How Does The Grass Grow” 12. “(You Will) Set The World On Fire” 13. “You Feel So Lonely You Could Die” 14. “Heat”
– The three extra tracks on the deluxe version are called “So She,” “I’ll Take You There,” and “Plan.”
– Both “Where Are We Now?” and the album’s cover art seem to reference Bowie’s years in Berlin — the single namechecks Potsdamer Platz station and various Berlin locations, while the album cover is an adapted version of the iconic cover art for “Heroes”:
– The cover was designed by London graphic design studio Barnbrook. There’s a really interesting Q&A about the design on the studio’s blog: “Normally using an image from the past means, ‘recycle’ or ‘greatest hits,’ but here we are referring to the title The Next Day. The “Heroes” cover obscured by the white square is about the spirit of great pop or rock music which is ‘of the moment’, forgetting or obliterating the past.”
– And finally, as per The Guardian, there are sadly “no plans for interviews or live dates.” Boo.