Primal Scream Return
Picture credit: Adam Peter Johnson

Primal Scream announce return with Come Ahead, the new studio album due for release on 8 November 2024. 

Come Ahead is Primal Scream’s 12th full-length record and first new music since 2016’s Chaosmosis. The 11 new songs promise to be among vocalist and frontman Bobby Gillespie’s most personal.

Bobby Gillespie said: “I’m very excited about this album in a way that you would be making your first record. If there was an overall theme to Come Ahead it might be one of conflict, whether inner or outer. There is also a thread of compassion running through the album. The title is a Glaswegian term. If someone threatens to fight you, you say, ‘come ahead!’ It’s redolent of the indomitable spirit of the Glaswegian, and the album itself shares that aggressive attitude and confidence. They have a word for this up there, gallus. Come Ahead’s quite a cheeky title too.”

The news comes as Primal Scream reveal funky new single Love Insurrection. Listen below:

Message Of Hope

The songwriting process for Come Ahead began in 2022. At which point Bobby Gillespie had no idea if he would make another Primal Scream album again. For the first time in a long time, the lyrics came before the music. The story came first. Bobby wrote alone, using an acoustic guitar. Ideas flowed fast, in long bursts of inspiration.

This process, in tandem with encouragement from producer David Holmes, provided a new way in. Working with Holmes and Primal Scream guitarist Andrew Innes, the Come Ahead sessions were completed between Belfast, London and Los Angeles.

The album artwork was created using a photograph of Bobby’s late father, Robert Gillespie Senior, by Turner Prize nominated artist Jim Lambie. Bobby’s father remains deeply respected for his lifelong commitment to campaigning for social justice, and themes of class run through Come Ahead. “There is a message of hope in the record,” says Bobby Gillespie “but it’s tempered with an acceptance of the worst side of human nature.”

Primal Scream Return with new album Come Ahead

Come Ahead Tracklisting

1. Ready To Go Home
2. Love Insurrection
3. Heal Yourself
4. Innocent Money
5. Melancholy Man
6. Love Ain’t Enough
7. Circus Of Life
8. False Flags
9. Deep Dark Waters
10. The Centre Cannot Hold
11. Settler’s Blues

The album is released physically on double vinyl and CD with a limited mirrorboard gatefold double silver vinyl available at HMV and indie stores, plus a limited mirrorboard gatefold double red vinyl and an exclusive t-shirt available on the official album store here.

Want more Classic Pop? Sign up for our newsletter