John Hassall & The April Rainers share Doing Time as self-titled album nears release
John Hassall & The April Rainers have released Doing Time, a new single taken from their second album, John Hassall & The April Rainers, due on 17 July via Crystal Lawn Records. The record will be available on digital download and limited-edition vinyl, with Doing Time and previous single Miracles available to those who pre-order. Pre-order the album here.
A song with a very long runway
Hassall says the song has been hiding in plain sight for years. “Most of Doing Time was written around 20 years ago, though I could never find a good verse part to it. When I played it to Peter (Doherty) he immediately came up with the chords to the verse. That night he also lent me Waiting for Godot and I got the opening line for the lyrics from there ‘Nothing to be done’. The song is about striving to find patience, hope and inspiration when it feels like there is none.”
The new album was largely recorded at Hassall’s home studio in Aarhus, Denmark, where he has lived since 2009, and was produced by the band. String player Clementine Brown also had a significant influence on the sound, helping shape a record that leans into a more arranged approach than its predecessor.
Hassall says these are the songs that made the cut: “These 10 songs are the ones that survived, grew and took on a life of their own. Lessons were learnt from Wheels to Idyll and a new musical development runs through it. Whereas the last album was recorded pretty much live.”
Most of the material was written with poet Steev Burgess, with the pair folding in memories of school days, journeys, adventures, fading dreams, ancient empires and even someone’s trinket collection. Burgess also wrote the lyrics to Miracles, described here as a kind of Ballad of John and Line.
John Hassall & The April Rainers are expected to announce UK shows shortly. In the meantime, Hassall will appear with The Libertines at summer festivals across Europe and the UK.
John Hassall & The April Rainers are: John Hassall – lead vocals, rhythm guitar; Jakob Bruno – backing vocals, drums; Erlend Eggestad – backing vocals, bass; James Jefferys – backing vocals, lead guitar.
