Photo credit: Massimo Goina
Big Big Train are back with their 15th studio album ‘The Likes Of Us’ which will be out on March 1st, 2024. The album is the internationally-based group’s first full collection of songs since the unexpected passing of long-serving lead vocalist David Longdon in late 2021. Besides marking the debut of new frontman Alberto Bravin, a former member of the Italian band Premiata Forneria Marconi, ‘The Likes Of Us’ also heralds the beginning of a new relationship with InsideOutMusic, the group having self-released their music for almost two decades.
the band are pleased to reveal a second track taken from the forthcoming album. ‘Miramare’ is an edited version of a song that features in a longer format on ‘The Likes Of Us’. You can watch the video for ‘Miramare’, created by Miles Skarin of Crystal Spotlight, here:
Gregory Spawton comments of the track: “BBT is known for its story songs, and I was keen to find a story which is set in Italy. Alberto lives in Trieste and mentioned the story of Maximilian and Carlotta, which was both a romantic (but doomed) love story and also a tale of the end of empires.
Miramare was their castle home, a castle of dreams, set on the shore just outside Trieste. It turned out to be a grand folly and a place of madness and nightmares. Alberto had written a lovely piece of music and melody to set the words to and so it was simply a process of reading some books on the history and finding the way to tell the story.”
Alberto Bravin adds: “Having grown up in Trieste, and recently returned here after living for some years in London and Milan, the Miramare castle has been a backdrop for most of my life.
Putting the story of Maximilian and Carlotta into music with Greg has been hugely satisfying for me. It was very fulfilling to co-write this song together and create what will hopefully be regarded as a Big Big Train future classic. With all its twists and turns as the story progresses, Miramare should be great to play live as well.”
Big Big Train will perform for the first ever time in the USA in March 2024, including an appearance on Cruise To The Edge. The full list of shows can be found below:
March 1st – Sweetwater Performance Theatre, Fort Wayne, Indiana
March 2nd – Rivoli Theater at the Williams Center, Rutherford, New Jersey
March 3rd – Rivoli Theater at the Williams Center, Rutherford, New Jersey
March 5th – Regent Theatre, Arlington (Boston), Massachusetts
March 8th-13th – Cruise To The Edge, Miami, Florida
Pre-order now here: https://bigbigtrain.lnk.to/TheLikesOfUs
The album’s full track listing is as follows:
1. Light Left In The Day 06:10
2. Oblivion 05:27
3. Beneath The Masts 17:26
4. Skates On 04:28
5. Miramare 10:17
6. Love Is The Light 06:11
7. Bookmarks 06:23
8. Last Eleven 07:55