Public Image Ltd. (PiL), the English post-punk band led by John Lydon, the infamous Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols, recently announced the release of its ninth studio album, being the first one in 20 years. PiL is currently composed of vocalist John Lydon, guitarist Lu Edmonds, drummer Bruce Smith, and bassist Scott Firth. PiL, which was founded by John Lydon in 1978, after the Sex Pistols broke up, was active for 14 years, before going on hiatus. The band’s last release, ‘That What Is Not,’ dates back to 1992. In 2009, the band reunited and started touring.

The new PiL record will debut on May 28 and will be preceded by the vinyl-only EP ‘One Drop,’ which will be released for ‘Record Store Day’ on April 21; the EP will contain four of the songs of the upcoming record. Here is the complete track listing for the EP:

1. “One Drop”
2. “I Must Be Dreaming”
3. “The Room I Am In”
4. “Lollipop Opera”

Through the EP, fans will have the chance to taste the flavor of the musical approach the band explored in the new album. According to John Lydon, the sound is going to be very experimental and very impulsive, as he stated during his talk with BBC 6Music, “We record live; some songs are made up on the spot.” During the interview, Lydon also described the meaning of one of their new tracks, ‘One drop.’ You can listen to the track here.

“’One Drop’ is a reflection of where I grew up in Finsbury Park, London. The area that shaped me and influenced me culturally and musically, a place I will forever feel connected to. But, within this, I am also saying it doesn’t matter where you come from, we all go through the same emotions, especially the disenchanted youth of today, yesterday, and the future. Bearing in mind the Olympics are in London this year, and who knows what that could bring for London and our country….”

He also talked about the name of the upcoming record, which will feature a total of 12 new tracks, saying, “It is probably going to be called ‘This is PiL’, basically because it is, it is all the work, effort, and energy we put into this record.” The band finished recording the album during the summer of 2011 and mastered it in September.

The release got postponed to next May due to financial issues. According to the PiL official website, both album and EP were recorded at Steve Winwood’s studio in the UK and are indeed self-financed. They will be released on the band’s own label, PiL Official, via Cargo UK Distribution.

During his interview with BBC 6Music, John Lydon said, “I was always full of ideas, but I had to wait until I had enough money to release an album. Everybody thinks I made such a fortune with the Sex Pistols. Well, unfortunately, that is not true. To make this record, we had to tour extensively for two years.” PiL will perform as special guests at the BBC Radio 6 birthday celebration at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London on March 16.

Image Courtesy of   https://www.facebook.com/pilofficial

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About the author

Veronica Cinti
Italian native, extremely passionate about music in general. Although she appreciates a wide variety of music genres, her strongest field of expertise is Rock music, Grunge and Punk among its styles. Contact the author: veronica.cinti@toonarimedia.com; Follow Veronica on Twitter: @VeronicaCinti