''Hearts and Knives'' is the fourth studio album by the British rock/pop band Visage. It was released on 20 May 2013 and was the band's first album of new material in 29 years.

Background

In January 2013, Visage announced their new line-up to consist of vocalist and founding member

Steve Strange Stephen John Harrington (28 May 1959 – 12 February 2015), known professionally as Steve Strange, was a Welsh singer. From the late 1970s he was a nightclub host and promoter. He became famous as the leader of the new wave synth-pop group ...

, bassist Steve Barnacle (who had worked with the band on their 1984 album ''

Beat Boy ''Beat Boy'' is the third studio album by the British new wave band Visage. It was recorded at Trident Studios between 1982 and 1983 and released on Polydor Records in October 1984 (delayed by contractual problems the band were having at that ...

''), Robin Simon (former guitarist in

Ultravox Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was ...

and

Magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

) and Lauren Duvall on vocals. The band's official website confirmed that former Visage/Magazine keyboardist

Dave Formula Dave Formula (born David Tomlinson 11 August 1946, Whalley Range, Manchester, England), is an English keyboardist and film-soundtrack composer from Manchester, who played with the post-punk bands Magazine and Visage during the end of the 1970s ...

and former

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977. They have released a string of hit singles, becoming best known internationally for "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the '' Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United St ...

keyboardist

Mick MacNeil Norman Michael MacNeil is a Scottish songwriter and keyboardist born 20 July 1958 on the Isle of Barra, Scotland. He is best known as a former member of the group Simple Minds. MacNeil joined the band in 1978 and left in 1990. He released the ...

have also contributed to the album.

Album cover

The make-up and " Fade to Grey"-style mask seen on the front cover were created by Lara Himpelmann, and the cover shot was taken by photographer

Peter Ashworth Peter Ashworth is an English photographer. Ashworth initially specialized in music photography, between 1979 and 2000. In the 1980s, he worked with many UK artists including The Smiths, Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, Soft Cell, Jimmy Page and The A ...

, who supplied the black and white photograph that artist Iain Gillies utilized to paint the picture that was the cover of Visage's debut album in 1980. The new logo and graphics have been designed by The Nick Foot Studio.

Release

A single, "Shameless Fashion", was released as a digital download in April 2013 and followed by a physical CD-single release on 6 May. ''Hearts and Knives'' was released on 20 May 2013 through the band's own label Blitz Club. A second single, "Dreamer I Know", was released on 23 July 2013. A promo video for the single (the band's first since 1984) was produced. The single includes the non-album track entitled "Digital Age". The third single from the album, "Never Enough", was released on 9 December 2013, with a vinyl release to follow in January 2014. The fourth single from the album, "Hidden Sign", was released as a CD-single and a download on 23 May 2014 with a 12" vinyl single available from

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pun ...

. The fifth and final single from the album, "She's Electric (Coming Around)", was released in August 2014.

Reception

Lydia Jenkin of ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

'' called it "a solid album steeped in nostalgia. ..But really, it's one for the fans – and those needing an early-'80s fix." ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

'''s review commented "the new Visage album sounds like the past 30 years failed to happen," and called it "a supremely engaging diversion."

Track listing

# "Never Enough" (John Bryan, Rich Mowatt, Robin Simon, Sare Havlicek, Steve Strange) # "Shameless Fashion" (Ben Woods, Bryan, Nigel Summers, Mowatt, Simon, Strange) # "She's Electric (Coming Around)" (Bryan, Josh Legg, Kyle Petersen, Mick MacNeil, Strange) # "Hidden Sign" (Bryan, Julie Scott, Mowatt, Havlicek, Steve Barnacle, Strange) # "On We Go" (Guy Hatfield, Bryan, John Graham, Simon, Strange) # "Dreamer I Know" (Arno Carstens, Bryan, Martin Glover, MacNeill, Strange) # "Lost in Static" (Christian Kennerney, Greg Benns, Bryan, Marco di Carlo, Strange) # "I Am Watching" (Bryan, Graham, Simon, Havlicek, Strange) # "Diaries of a Madman" (Dave Formula, Ross Tregenza, Strange) # "Breathe Life" (Barnacle, Strange)

Personnel

; Visage *

– vocals * Steve Barnacle – bass *

Robin Simon Robin Simon (born 12 July 1956) is a British guitarist who was a member of Ultravox, Magazine and Visage. Biography Early career Robin Simon played guitar in a number of local Halifax based bands in the early to mid-1970s. The bands include ...

– guitar * Lauren Duvall – vocals ; Additional personnel *

– keyboards *

– keyboards * Logan Sky – keyboards * Rich Mowatt – keyboards * John Bryan – additional backing vocals * Sare Havlicek – keyboards, drums * "Wildcat" Will Blanchard – drums * Nigel Summers – additional guitar ("Shameless Fashion")

References

External links

* {{Authority control Visage (band) albums 2013 albums