Description
***AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW*** RELEASE DATE IS APRIL 24TH
FINALLY – THEY’RE BACK!
x 100 COPIES CLEAR VINYL DIEHARD LP + EXCLUSIVE 7″ IN PICTURE SLEEVE
x 300 COPIES BLACK VINYL LP
In a world that seems to be constantly searching for the next big, shiny and exciting thing, Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell are sticking proudly with balls-out rock’n’roll. Formed in 2008, this scabby-knuckled, booze-sodden trio have never been remotely inclined to follow trends or conform to the cool kids’ idea of what rock should be. Instead, across a series of albums that have been widely acclaimed and almost entirely separate from the rough ‘n’ tumble of contemporary heaviness, they have conquered hearts and minds with ease.
For those who subscribe to the notion that The Riff is king, Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell are certified guardians of the good stuff. From the raw, raucous abandon of 2012 debut album Don‘t Hear It… Fear It! to the ragged and celebratory clatter of 2019’s Very Uncertain Times, these dogged distributors of underground riff worship have conjured some of the most thrillingly grubby sounds of modern times.
Seven years on from their last LP, Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell are once again emerging from the smoke-filled shadows with a fresh selection of unreconstructed, dirt rock anthems. The recorded debut of new drummer Glen Stebbings, The Trouble With The Shovell is a rip-roaring return to action that hammers home this band’s ageless charm, with nine new songs carved straight from the freak rock coalface. The product of the last few years of clandestine exploration, the album heralds the beginning of a new era for our heroes.
“Over the last few years, Covid happened, and then (former drummer) Serra Petale’s other band Los Bitchos happened, so then we started looking around for another drummer,” explains frontman Johnny Gorilla. “Since we already knew Glen from our time recording albums #3 and #4, when he was working at Broadoak Studios, we got ourselves a new drummer! We’ve all individually been pretty busy since Very Uncertain Times, with what life has thrown our way. It’s been good, shit, indifferent and ridiculous at times.”
“Our plans were/are a constant – to make the best record we can, something that sounds like a record we’d wanna buy,” says bassist Louis Comfort-Wiggett. “We write songs we like, put down what comes naturally, we play live together in the studio, we write for us and hope people will like it too. We achieved what we wanted. If we achieved what anybody else wanted we’ll be very happy, lucky and surprised!”
Co-produced by the band and studio guru Harvey Summers at Broadoak Studios, in the general vicinity of Bexhill-on-Sea, The Trouble With The Shovell cheerfully defies progress and gets straight to the heart of the matter. Popping and fizzing with pub-bound pugnacity, songs like Sideways Barnacle and Head In A Noose build smartly on the blueprint laid down on previous records, infusing the classic Shovell sound with even more energy and verve than before.
“I never personally have plans or hopes when putting an album together, apart from ‘I hope I’m happy with the outcome!’” says Louis. “Suffice to say, I’m really happy with it. We haven’t changed the magic formula. It’s a middle finger and a panacea all at the same time, neatly wrapped up in a tirade of near perfect riffs. You don’t have to like it, you don’t have to love it, you don’t even have to buy it!”
“But if you don’t buy it,” adds Johnny, “You’re a cunt.”
In addition to the usual fiery blend of roots rock riffing and ale-drenched freewheeling, The Trouble With The Shovell takes extra cues from one of the great unsung bands of the ‘70s and ‘80s, and their self-described “spunk rock”.
“We’ve always, always been keen admirers of Swansea rockers Man, and some of their influences crept into the album,” says Louis. “It’s not a knock-off or even a homage, we just dig the band’s ability to articulate a ‘don’t give a flying fuck’ ambience in all they touched, from their anti-everything image, to their wearing of outdated influences on their sleeves (albeit Deke Leonard often favoured no sleeves!).”
The next chapter in the band’s ongoing friendship with the legendary Rise Above Records, The Trouble With The Shovell offers a ferocious alternative to the blank-eyed, AI-generated mulch that currently dominates airwaves and accursed social media. A vibrant and vivacious eruption of honesty, exhilaration and undiluted, goofy good times, it probably won’t propel Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell to international stardom. But it fucking should do.
“We’re relying on this album to be our big breakthrough album,” concludes Johnny. “We will flood the market with hype enough to get us the coveted support slot on the next Ramones or Greta Van Fleet tour. Either that or as wardrobe assistants for the next Taylor Swift working men’s club tour.”
“I hope people get it!” adds Louis. “I hope people at the very least understand that we’re not doing this for love, fame, nor respect. We’re just a bunch of hairy drongos with a penchant for outdated greaser rock, acting as a conduit for the spirits that emanate from our dusty old record collections. If we can get some gigs in 2026 that’d be great, but if not, fuck it. We’ll be back in the next year or two with another album, even if this one doesn’t get noticed, and the world can hold its malodorous breath until then.”
Dom Lawson, January 2026.
01 Laughing Gravy
02 A Better Day
03 Sideways Barnacle
04 Head In A Noose
05 Kind Boy
06 Slayed In Full
07 First City Seconds
08 Blue Mountain Dust
09 Another Greasy Spoon
BONUS 7′ exclusive to clear vinyl diehard.
Side A
Inside Out
Side B
Teeth Of The Worm
