Just over a year after the release of Drift Code, Talk Talk bassist Paul Webb announced the release of his second album under the Rustin Man moniker, Clockdust, set for release March 20. Webb also released the video for the first single off the album, “Jackie’s Room,” a song about a dysfunctional yet romantic relationship in which the protagonist believes “as long as she’s desired, she’ll never grow old.”
“I think of the album as containing stories from people who’ve reached their present situation through many years of experiences,” Webb says.
With its smoothly mesmerizing rhythm and Webb’s trance-like vocals, “Jackie’s Room” has an almost Bowie-esque vibe to it in both song and video, which provides a sort of psychedelic fly-on-the-wall view into the troubled relationship in the song through a blurred multi-color lens. Webb said that that many songs on Clockdust are inspired by old movies, and that is on full display here.
Drift Code was 17 years in the making, so a follow-up to the Rustin Man debut within two years is a tad surprising, but Webb said Clockdust is a continuation of his debut.
“Early on I realized I had two albums worth of material,” Webb said. “The first tunes I wrote were electric guitar based, with long arrangements that built up in layers to something sonically quite dense. These became the bulk of Drift Code. As a reaction, I wrote a batch of songs that were tighter in their structure but had more feeling of space. These make up the bulk of Clockdust.”
Tracklisting:
1. Carousel Days
2. Gold & Tinsel
3. Jackie’s Room
4. Love Turns Her On
5. Rubicon Song
6. Old Flamingo
7. Kinky Living
8. Night In Evening City
9. Man With A Remedy
Rustin Man has also announced European live dates, the first for Webb since 2003 – when he and Beth Gibbons performed their record Out of Season – and the first ever live dates as Rustin Man. Tickets for the live dates go on sale Fri, Feb 7.
Live Dates
11/12 – Amsterdam – Het Zonnehuis
11/13 – Diksmuide – 4AD Presenteert
11/14 – London – Union Chapel
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