''Different Days'' is the 13th studio album by British alternative rock band The Charlatans, released on 26 May 2017. The album features guest appearances from

Paul Weller Paul John Weller (born John William Weller; 25 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock/ new wave/mod revival band the Jam (1972–1982). He had further success with the blue-eyed soul m ...

(who co-wrote "Spinning Out"),

Gillian Gilbert Gillian Lesley Gilbert (born 27 January 1961) is an English musician and singer, best known as the keyboardist and guitarist of the band New Order. Early life Gilbert's family moved from her birthplace, Manchester, to the nearby market town of ...

and Stephen Morris (both from New Order),

Johnny Marr Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher, 31 October 1963) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has since performed with numerous ...

Peter Salisbury Peter Anthony Salisbury (born 24 September 1971) is an English rock drummer, best known as the drummer for The Verve, whom he co-founded in 1990. Personal life Salisbury resides in Derbyshire with his wife Pam, sons Ben and Isaac, and step s ...

(

The Verve The Verve were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Wigan in 1990 by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bass guitarist Simon Jones (musician), Simon Jones and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboard player Simo ...

), Donald Johnson (

A Certain Ratio A Certain Ratio (abbreviated as ACR) are an English post-punk band formed in 1977 in Flixton, Greater Manchester by Peter Terrell (guitar, electronics) and Simon Topping (vocals, trumpet), with additional members Jez Kerr (bass, vocals), Martin ...

Ian Rankin Sir Ian James Rankin (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels. Early life Rankin was born in Cardenden, Fife. His father, James, owned a grocery shop, and his mother, Isobel, worked in a schoo ...

, and

Sharon Horgan Sharon Lorencia Horgan (born 13 July 1970) is an Irish actress, writer, director, comedian and producer who co-wrote and starred in the comedy series '' Pulling'' (2006–2009) and ''Catastrophe'' (2015–2019). She also created the HBO comedy ...

.Barnett, David (2017)
The Charlatans' new album 'Different Days' is latest chapter in evolution of UK's hardest working band
, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 16 June 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2019

Release

On 20 March 2017, ''Different Days'' was announced for release. "Plastic Machinery" was made available for streaming on 4 April. A music video was released for the track on 24 April; directed by Ewen Spencer, the clip was filmed in Barcelona, Spain. A remix of the song was done by

Sleaford Mods Sleaford Mods are an English post-punk music duo, formed in 2007 in Nottingham. The band features vocalist Jason Williamson and, since 2012, musician Andrew Fearn. They are known for their abrasive, minimalist musical style and embittered explo ...

and was made available for streaming on 25 May. ''Different Days'' was released on 26 May. On the same day, "Plastic Machinery" was released as a single. To promote the album's release, the band did two acoustic performances. The album was released in Japan through

Hostess Entertainment , DBA Unlimited, is a Japanese independent music company that represents Western alternative artists and labels in Japan, such as the Beggars Group ( 4AD/ XL/Matador/ Rough Trade), Domino Records, V2 Records, Brassland, Virgin Music Label & A ...

on 2 June and included remixes of "Plastic Machinery" as bonus tracks. "Over Again" was released as a single on 13 October. In November and December, the group went on a headlining UK tour. On 8 December, a music video was released for "Over Again", directed by Ashley Shakibai. An EP, ''Totally Eclipsing'', was released alongside a two-CD edition of the album on 8 June 2018. In September and October, the group went on a headlining North American tour. The album cover photo was taken in an unknown city.

Reception

The album was described by David Barnett in ''

'' as "possibly their most ambitious project yet". Dave Simpson, for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', gave it four stars and called it "their best album in 20 years".

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

writer

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

gave it three and a half stars, stating that the band "embrace the elastic possibilities of new avenues here, and the results are rewarding".

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

's Robert Ham gave it 6.0 out of 10, calling it "good but not great". Richard Folland, for ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'', also gave it 6 out of 10, describing it as ''Modern Nature'' Part 2.

Track listing

Personnel

The Charlatans * Tim Burgess – vocals *Martin Blunt – bass guitar * Mark Collins – guitar *Tony Rogers – keyboards Additional musicians *

– piano, percussion, vocals *

– keyboards * Stephen Morris – drums, programming *

– guitar *Anton Newcombe – guitar, percussion, keyboards *

– drums *Ben Gordelier – drums *Donald Johnson – percussion *Derick Johnson – bass *

– spoken word *Kurt Wagner – spoken word *

– backing vocals *Nik Void – backing vocals *Shuri Endo – voice

References

{{Authority control 2017 albums BMG Rights Management albums The Charlatans (English band) albums