I Am The Manic Whale announce new album

Reading based prog quartet I Am The Manic Whale have announced their latest album. The band will release Things Unseen on April 24. The album will be made available via the band's bandcamp page while a vinyl version will be released through Chris Topham's Plane Groovy label (in coloured vinyl for a limited run)

“Expect the unexpected," bassist and vocalist Michael Whitman tells Prog. "These songs aren't about what you might at first think. They are inspired by urban myth, fantasy literature, ecology, celebrity culture, a baby's smile, a summer afternoon at Grey's Court, interlocking block construction toys and a British engineering marvel. What more could you want?”

“We are delighted to be working with Plane Groovy again,” adds keyboard player/vocalist John Murphy. “We’re very proud of this album and knowing that it’ll be available in such a great quality 180 gram double vinyl version is incredibly exciting. Vinyl is so visceral, so tactile and above all, so large that we’re even able to include some bonus music on the fourth side; a live recording of Derelict, our 20 minute epic song about an abandoned swimming pool, which we recorded one night at a theatre in Reading last year. The night of that show, I heard that Reading even has a swimming pool somewhere, which made playing the song feel even more poignant.”

Full tracklisting is:

1. Billionaire
2. The Deplorable World
3. Into The Blue
4. Celebrity
5. Smile
6. Build It Up Again
7. Halcyon Day
8. Valenta Scream

Pre-orders for the CD's will be available on Monday 10 February and via Burning Shed for the vinyl.

"We’re also setting up some crowdfunding options through bandcamp, so people can help us finish the album," adds drummer Ben Hartley. "These include booking us for a house concert, purchasing sheet music and sticks I used during the recording process, or buying a cover song of your choice, which we will lovingly make for you.”

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.