Following the smash single releases this year of ‘Just One Kiss’ & ‘Made To Love’ (Radio 2 Playlist & Record of the week / live performance on Graham Norton BBC1) Imelda May releases today, her sixth studio album and new single ‘Diamonds’.
‘11 Past The Hour’ is a record that brims with sensuality, emotional intelligence, spirituality and intuition, marking a new chapter for Imelda and showcasing her at her most authentic. With pals and collaborators like Wood, Gallagher and Miles Kane and inspired contributions from feminist thinkers and activists such as Gina Martin and Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, the album is an invigorating statement of rock n’ low slung blues.
Mostly written with co-producer Tim Bran (London Grammar, Primal Scream) and string arranger Davide Rossi (Coldplay, U2, Goldfrapp), this brave album shows an artist diving deep into her true self, her Irish roots, her love of storytelling and singing from her soul.
She says, “’11 Past the Hour’ is my truth. I always write with meaning and from my heart as that’s the reason I write, to connect with my own story at each particular moment and I hope therefore I connect with others during theirs. I’d like to think I can put into words and music what we all feel sometimes. We all laugh, sing, love, cry, dance, kiss, care. We all experience lust, anger, joy, worry, sorrow and hope. Sometimes we stay silent and hold it all in and sometimes we dance and throw it all to the wind with abandon, but one thing is for sure is we are in this life together. Each song is a moment in my life. Each life is a moment in time. Every minute counts.
The title track (written with Pedro Vito) opens the album with characteristic poetic vividness recalling the romance noir of a lost David Lynch soundtrack, while ‘Made To Love’ is an anthem celebrating acceptance and the startling piano ballad & new single ‘Diamonds’ (co-written with Ivor Novello winner Sacha Skarbeck) is a stirring stand out about digging deep to appreciate the true simplicity of love. ‘What We Did In The Dark’, a duet with Miles Kane, is a galloping Eighties Goth- pop synth romp. These are Just a few of the variety of views, multiplicity of voices, range of emotions and the exciting, adventurous spread of sounds on ‘11 Past The Hour’, with a big-hearted, big-thinking woman at the centre of it.
Also announced this week along with her 2022 tour, Imelda will make her acting debut playing the character of Aubrey in FISHERMANS FRIENDS 2, currently filming on location in Cornwall, the movie is the sequal to the 2019 hit, based on the true story of the Sea Shanty Singing Fishermen. With Tik Tok also boosting the mass popularity of the Sea Shanty this year, Fishermans Friends 2 is destined to be a box office smash on it’s release in Spring 2022. Imelda plays the newest face in Port Isaac, as a famous singer-songwriter looking to escape the world for a while.
As ever, Imelda manages to cut through the noise, bringing her rich, sensual voice and exuberant personality to everyone and everything around her. ‘11 Past The Hour’ is an album of grit and glamour, of wee hours vocal huskiness and anthemic pop belters. Of poetry and power. Of love and sex and fun – this is pure Imelda May.
’11 Past The Hour’ is out today on Decca Records https://ImeldaMay.lnk.to/11PTHAlbumPR
