Tom Clarke, frontman with Coventry indie rockers The Enemy, has unveiled the title and Anthony Gormley-inspired artwork for his upcoming solo album The Chronicles of Nigel. The singer has drip-fed information on the new LP on his social media platforms over the last week.
While the subject matter and titular inspiration for the record remain under wraps – is this the same Nigel the band sang about on 2009’s Be Somebody? – Clarke has promised fans that his debut one-man project will ruffle a few feathers. He told his Instagram followers this week that “The excited response to the announcement of The Chronicles Of Nigel has been amazing. Being such a different record, Nigel is undoubtedly going to divide opinion. Some will detest it, hopefully those who get it will adore it for its difference as I do. One thing is certain, never before have I worked so meticulously on a project.”
Clarke’s new record comes after a four year musical hiatus for The Enemy, with the group having announced a split in 2016 due to personal reasons and lack of exposure. The Midlands outfit had burst onto the scene back in 2007 with their debut album We’ll Live And Die In These Towns, which garnered praise for its energetic musicality, social observation and political themes. That year they were triumphantly hailed by the NME as “the gloriously untrendy sound of old-fashioned British rock’n’roll“, and went on to support big hitters like The Rolling Stones, Manic Street Preachers, Stereophonics, Ash, Oasis and The Fratellis on their UK tours.
Their later albums were less well-received, with their third LP Streets In The Sky in particular copping an inordinate amount of flack from the music press, despite it yielding one of the group’s most memorable singles in the Jam-inspired rock anthem Saturday. The Enemy’s final album It’s Automatic, which Clarke has since described as the band’s best, was released in 2015.
2020 had been set to be a busy year for the frontman: a solo tour, supporting sets for fellow Midlanders Ocean Colour Scene and a special December gig in Coventry were all scheduled in during less uncertain times. While he’s been unable to take to the road as planned, Clarke’s new album is still set for release before Christmas. The first snippets from his new material, procured from jamming sessions posted on Instagram over recent weeks, suggest a return to the melodic guitar sound associated with the The Enemy’s best work. Tom Clarke’s new album, The Chronicles of Nigel, is available to pre-order now at www.tomclarkemusic.com
