Valhalla Dancehall

Valhalla Dancehall is British Sea Power's fourth album proper, following Do You Like Rock Music? in 2008 and the Man of Aran soundtrack in 2009. With its title, Valhalla Dancehall invokes a wild-eyed internationalism, alluding to both the Norse mythos and Jamaican discos - to the Viking heaven and Caribbean good times. BSP are maybe unlikely to be taking up residence in downtown Kingston, but the album title and the music it comes with are antidotes to limited horizons and parochial mindsets. With its ambition and sense of wonder, the new album mirrors British Sea Power's globe-girdling scope. 'We almost called the album Return of the Gender Benders,' says BSP frontman Yan. 'It was a fun title, but it also had a more serious side. The music we were recording made us want to link ourselves with people who aren't afraid to stand out. Another working title was The Interstellar Sussex Downs - a mix of the near and the far. It's our most ambitious record yet and there's a bit of a party theme - the word 'party' features a few times. Lee Perry and Odin are both there, in Valhalla where the bar stays open for eternity. Four albums in and we're finally learning to enjoy ourselves.' The album was recorded in Sussex and on the Isle of Skye and co-produced by BSP and Graham Sutton, who the band worked with on Do You Like Rock Music? and the Man of Aran OST.