Baxter Dury is back—and this time, he’s got some serious firepower in his corner. The UK’s master of sardonic swagger has just dropped a brand-new single and video for Allbarone, the title track from his upcoming album ‘Allbarone,’ out September 12 via Heavenly Recordings. And here’s the kicker: the album is produced by none other than Paul Epworth—yep, the guy behind Adele, Florence + The Machine, and basically half the soundtrack of your dramatic life moments. This is Epworth’s first album project in five years, and honestly? The wait sounds worth it.
Flashback to Glastonbury 2024. It’s June, the Park Stage crowd is still buzzing, and Baxter’s just stepped off stage. He’s dripping in applause (and probably sweat), when a familiar face pops up backstage—Paul Epworth himself. Cue the casual chat, the mutual respect, and a “let’s make a record” moment that snowballed into a creative partnership at Epworth’s lush North London Church Studios. Think Frank Ocean vibes, glistening fruit, sushi on call—Baxter compared it to Trading Places, stuffing delicacies down his sleeves. A vibe.
Fast forward to winter. They dive into focused, three-hour sessions through December and January, crafting a tight nine-track journey that Baxter calls his “most melodically direct, futuristic” work yet. Gone is the excess; what’s left is pure, potent Dury.
The first song they made together? Allbarone. It’s moody, it’s introspective, and it pretty much set the tone for the rest of the record. “It’s a song about sitting in the rain outside an All Bar One, contemplating why what just happened, happened in the way it did,” says Baxter. It’s part confessional, part character study—and very much a thread that weaves through the whole album.
Baxter’s lyrical lens is as sharp as ever. “It’s very critical of people,” he says with a grin. “Maybe some bloke with a moustache and sockless loafers in Shoreditch, or a fat old Chiswick gangster lording it up in some really comfortable middle-class bit of London.” Ouch. But also… fair.
So what does Allbarone sound like? In Baxter’s words: “It doesn’t sound like a Harrods hamper band made it. It doesn’t sound like a band made it at all.” He hesitates to call it contemporary—because, well, he doesn’t want to sound like a wanker—but let’s be honest: it is contemporary, in the best way. Fresh, bold, and unmistakably him.
If Allbarone is anything to go by, we’re in for a wild, stylish ride.
‘Allbarone’ track list
- Allbarone
- Schadenfreude
- Kubla Khan
- Alpha Dog
- The Other Me
- Hapsburg
- Return Of The Sharp Heads
- Mockingjay
- Mr W4
Pre-order or pre-save here.
New era, new Baxter. Go give Allbarone a listen and prepare yourself for an album that sounds like nothing he—or anyone else—has done before.
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