Johnny Marr, a former guitarist for The Smiths, has announced his second solo album ‘Playland’, hitting stores October 6th in the UK and October 7th in North America via Warner Music Group.

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat

‘Playland’, a follow-up to Marr’s 2013 solo debut ‘The Messenger’, is supposed to be a continuation of his previous record, written on the road while touring with ‘The Messenger’ in the past two years.

As Johnny states, “When ‘The Messenger’ came out I kept on writing. I liked that the band had a momentum going on tour and a connection with the audience, and I thought that energy would be good to capture on the new record.”

In an interview to NME, Marr stated that ‘The album’s main themes are the atmosphere of the city, and the preoccupations of the people who live in them; those preoccupations being consumerism, sex and anxiety, or distraction and transcendence from those things’.

Before going solo in 2011, Johnny Marr has been collaborating with Modest Mouse and The Cribs, putting a lot of work into The Cribs 2009’s ‘Ignore The Ignorant’ record. Now Johnny is entirely into his own music, on the eve of releasing two records in less than two years. Well, not too bad for a start.

Album cover

‘Playland’ track list:
01. Back in the Box
02. Easy Money
03. Dynamo
04. Candidate
05. 25 Hours
06. The Trap
07. Playland
08. Speak Out Reach Out
09. Boys Get Straight
10. This Tension
11. Little King

Johnny Marr’s October UK Tour Dates:
10\13: Lincoln, England – The Engine Shed
10\14: Southend, England – Cliffs Pavilion
10\15: Bexhill, England – De La Warr
10\17: Wolverhampton, England – Civic Hall
10\18: Cardiff, Wales – Great Hall
10\20: Bournemouth, England – O2 Academy
10\21: Cambridge, England – Corn Exchange
10\23: London, England – O2 Academy Brixton
10\24: Bath, England – Pavilion
10\25: Manchester, England – O2 Apollo
10\27: Glasgow, Scotland – O2 Academy
10\28: Newcastle, England – O2 Academy
10\29: Leeds, England – O2 Academy