Sextet was ACR’s third studio album and showed a whole new side to the band. It was described on release as “… an album of the present, killing the present and agreeably ignoring the future” by Sounds and more recently reappraised by Pitchfork who said it “still sounds like no other record”. The line-up for Sextet features Martha “Tilly” Tilson, who the band had met in New York while they were recording To Each…Tilly’s lyrics, Jez Kerr explains, “reflect her take on life in Manchester, “walk along the waterline, see the ships passing by, grey skies, still water”.
This singular release - which spent 11 weeks in the UK Independent Chart, reaching the #1 slot - has been given a brand-new mix by long-time collaborator Andy Meecham (The Emperor Machine) from the original album session tapes. Talking about the process, Meecham explains, “Taking on an epic album like this involved pushing up the faders again from the original 1981 2” multitracks adding some new dynamics while recapturing the sound of 1981 without losing the original raw energy and feel. The talent, innovation and sheer musicality blew me away every day I worked on this. A labour of love, one I would undertake again in a heartbeat.”
Force – the band’s fifth studio album - followed in several years later and stands as one of their most commercial albums, recently described by The Quietus as “their purest moment”. Force Majeure is a newly compiled 9-track album that gives fans a deep dive into the world that ACR inhabited 40 years ago, with unreleased original versions of tracks including ‘Force’ the title track, which didn’t appear on the 80s release. The album was produced by ACR and the late Stuart (Jammer) James, who presented the band with long forgotten 4 track recordings he’d made of tracks that would go on to be on the album. Martin Moscrop explains, “Stuart helped us record the tracks to review the songs for a possible album, to work on arrangements and practice playing them live. Listening to the recordings many years later I was surprised at how good they sounded, so we decided to share them with everyone for this Force companion album”.
In October 2026, ACR will be hitting the road to celebrate these anniversaries. The tour - which kicks off on 7 October in Birmingham, includes a date at London Dingwalls on 9 Oct and finishes at Manchester’s Band on the Wall on 24 October – will see both albums played in full, with an interval in between, and some surprises thrown in.
Sextet and Force are starkly different to each other yet very clearly ACR, making the prospect of hearing both performed live, side by side, especially tantalising.
ACR go on to say, “We’re celebrating these two milestones with this tour, to say we are very excited is an understatement. It will be a real challenge, which we’ve already started preparing for, with nine months to go! We will be playing two sets with no support.”
The Joy of Sextet is available on limited edition “The Joy of Curacao” coloured vinyl, CD and digitally
Force Majeure is available on limited edition “Unforced Purple” coloured vinyl, CD and digitally
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