{"id":45426,"date":"2026-05-22T12:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T16:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=45426"},"modified":"2026-04-26T08:46:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T12:46:14","slug":"the-boo-radleys-martin-carr-unveils-what-future-his-most-unconventional-work-yet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=45426","title":{"rendered":"The Boo Radleys\u2019 Martin Carr unveils \u2018What Future\u2019 \u2014 his most unconventional work yet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Martin Carr \u2014 the visionary songwriter, guitarist, filmmaker, and graphic artist best known as the creative force behind The Boo Radleys and Bravecaptain \u2014 is back with something genuinely unlike anything in his catalogue. The Cardiff-based artist has shared <em>What Future<\/em>, the strikingly unconventional title track from his forthcoming album of the same name, out May 1st via his own Sonny Boy Records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alongside the single, Carr has unveiled a self-directed animated music video \u2014 a fittingly restless visual companion to a track built from what he describes as &#8220;<em>distracted beats and messy electronics.<\/em>&#8221; Watch it below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lFOVkI2tNrQ?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-CA&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>What Future<\/em> marks the second single from the album, and if the title track is anything to go by, Carr has pushed himself into genuinely new sonic territory. In his own words:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>&#8220;I&#8217;ve been putting together these sounds for many years but this is the first time where I thought &#8216;this doesn&#8217;t really sound like anything else&#8217; and decided to put it out.<\/em>&#8220;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The music, he explains, isn&#8217;t just a stylistic experiment \u2014 it&#8217;s deeply personal. The shifts in tone and texture mirror his own anxious, hyperactive thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;I have a constant lowkey dread running through my central nervous system, I am prone to paranoia and anxiety and all that feeds into the atmosphere of the album without me having to come up with new ways of expressing myself lyrically. The shifts in tone and texture reflect my thinking, rather than being a stylistic choice.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Carr cites an eclectic cast of inspirations \u2014 RZA, Prefuse 73, Pole, King Tubby, Vernon Elliot, and Eden Ahbez \u2014 describing them as &#8220;world builders all.&#8221; His process is equally idiosyncratic: starting with found sounds (an isolated McCartney bassline, a fragment of a Pretty Things record, a neighbour&#8217;s van blaring something that sounds like Mark E. Smith), layering obsessively, then stripping it all back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;<em>I make a huge mess then I start chipping away at it until it starts to sound like something.<\/em>&#8220;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What&#8217;s the backstory?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8216;What Future&#8217; follows last year&#8217;s &#8216;The Canton Hours&#8217;, a collection of odds and sods recorded in the wake of Carr&#8217;s critically acclaimed 2017 solo album &#8216;New Shapes of Life&#8217; \u2014 which Pitchfork called &#8220;<em>a suave, sophisticated, rhythmically robust pop record,<\/em>&#8221; while CLASH gave it a 9\/10 rave and Record Collector declared it &#8220;<em>his finest work since The Boo Radleys.<\/em>&#8220;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pitchfork has also described Carr as &#8220;<em>not only one of the most redoubtable tunesmiths of his generation, but one of its most adventurous sonic architects as well.&#8221;<\/em> &#8216;What Future&#8217; looks set to back that up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The album drops <strong>May 1st<\/strong> via Sonny Boy Records. Single out now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Follow Martin Carr:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/Martin_Carr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Martin Carr \u2014 the visionary songwriter, guitarist, filmmaker, and graphic artist best known as the creative force behind The Boo Radleys and Bravecaptain \u2014 is <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=45426\" title=\"The Boo Radleys\u2019 Martin Carr unveils \u2018What Future\u2019 \u2014 his most unconventional work yet\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[13,23,28,29,30,1907],"tags":[14044,13466,14042,12820,13926,14039,14040,14041,14043],"class_list":["post-45426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-electronic-music","category-indie","category-music","category-music-video","category-new-release","category-news","tag-2026-releases","tag-album-preview","tag-bravecaptain","tag-cardiff","tag-experimental-music","tag-martin-carr","tag-sonny-boy-records","tag-the-boo-radleys","tag-what-future"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_0684-e1777207494777.jpeg?fit=1067%2C702&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2B2TV-bOG","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":39504,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=39504","url_meta":{"origin":45426,"position":0},"title":"The Boo Radleys release &#8216;Sorrow (I Just Want To Be Free)\u2019","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"June 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Experience counts for everything and you can\u2019t always leave the past behind as proven by\u00a0The Boo Radleys. They show their statesman-like song writing prowess and revive the melodic, pop sensibilities of their chart-cresting nineties exploits with latest single,\u00a0Sorrow (I Just Want To Be Free).\u00a0Making extrovert sounds from their sense of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;graffiti&quot;","block_context":{"text":"graffiti","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=21"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Boo Radleys press photo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/2DC7F475-EA44-4A30-A935-27F50BB176BC.jpeg?fit=1200%2C849&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/2DC7F475-EA44-4A30-A935-27F50BB176BC.jpeg?fit=1200%2C849&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/2DC7F475-EA44-4A30-A935-27F50BB176BC.jpeg?fit=1200%2C849&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/2DC7F475-EA44-4A30-A935-27F50BB176BC.jpeg?fit=1200%2C849&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/2DC7F475-EA44-4A30-A935-27F50BB176BC.jpeg?fit=1200%2C849&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":33736,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=33736","url_meta":{"origin":45426,"position":1},"title":"The National Honor Society announce new album + share C86-influenced track \u2018First Among The Last\u2019","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"March 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Echoing influences from the best in British rock music from the last four decades, US four-piece\u00a0The National Honor Society will release their debut album \u2018To All the Glory We Never Had\u2019,\u00a0on May\u00a029th\u00a0via Chien Lunatique Records. A joyous romp of rousing melody and masterful songwriting, the album was produced by Erik\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;guitar rock&quot;","block_context":{"text":"guitar rock","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"The National Honor Society press photo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/9F45ACB2-8750-49D1-BBA7-03B31CBFEF4D-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/9F45ACB2-8750-49D1-BBA7-03B31CBFEF4D-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/9F45ACB2-8750-49D1-BBA7-03B31CBFEF4D-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/9F45ACB2-8750-49D1-BBA7-03B31CBFEF4D-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/9F45ACB2-8750-49D1-BBA7-03B31CBFEF4D-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":27006,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=27006","url_meta":{"origin":45426,"position":2},"title":"The Dayoffs announce debut album","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"September 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Vladimir Komarov and Atsuo Matsumoto\u00a0are known as The Dayoffs. Having announced their self-titled debut album, slated for release on November 10 via German boutique label Emerald & Doreen Recordings. The Dayoffs is a rock duo with an elastic, transparent and multilayered sound and catchy riffs and hooks due to some\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;indie&quot;","block_context":{"text":"indie","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Dayoffs","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/The_Dayoffs_1_-_photo_credit_Paul_Takeuchi.jpg?fit=1200%2C897&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/The_Dayoffs_1_-_photo_credit_Paul_Takeuchi.jpg?fit=1200%2C897&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/The_Dayoffs_1_-_photo_credit_Paul_Takeuchi.jpg?fit=1200%2C897&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/The_Dayoffs_1_-_photo_credit_Paul_Takeuchi.jpg?fit=1200%2C897&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/The_Dayoffs_1_-_photo_credit_Paul_Takeuchi.jpg?fit=1200%2C897&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":34455,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=34455","url_meta":{"origin":45426,"position":3},"title":"Toronto&#8217;s Soft Set announce debut single &#8216;Never Die&#8217;","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"June 15, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Dream pop \/ indie rock duo\u00a0Soft Set have announced their debut single\u00a0Never Die, the lead track from their debut EP. Titled\u00a0'Love and Dancing', this beautiful first EP was mixed in Oxford, UK by\u00a0Ride\u00a0frontman and celebrated producer Mark Gardener in his recently-launched world-class\u00a0OX4\u00a0Sound Studio. Listen to the dreamy single via SoundCloud\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;guitar rock&quot;","block_context":{"text":"guitar rock","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"Soft Set press photo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/A3DA8B76-6559-42BE-BB44-9F9C5543EB71.jpeg?fit=425%2C283&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":27534,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=27534","url_meta":{"origin":45426,"position":4},"title":"The Dayoffs share &#8216;Nobody Knows Her&#8217; video","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"December 10, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Japanese-Russian duo The Dayoffs have shared the Nobody Knows Her\u00a0video\u00a0that captures the busy yet heartening vibe of NYC. After originally scripting their new video, they decided to let it flow more naturally through more natural improvisation. Shot primarily at New York's Grand Central station, Little 'Eva' is at the center\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;indie&quot;","block_context":{"text":"indie","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Dayoffs","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/The_Dayoffs_4_-_photo_credit_Paul_Takeuchi.jpg?fit=800%2C499&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/The_Dayoffs_4_-_photo_credit_Paul_Takeuchi.jpg?fit=800%2C499&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/The_Dayoffs_4_-_photo_credit_Paul_Takeuchi.jpg?fit=800%2C499&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/The_Dayoffs_4_-_photo_credit_Paul_Takeuchi.jpg?fit=800%2C499&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":27148,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=27148","url_meta":{"origin":45426,"position":5},"title":"The Dayoffs share &#8216;Next To Nothing&#8217; from debut album","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"October 19, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"NYC-based Japanese-Russian duo\u00a0The Dayoffs\u00a0have shared\u00a0'Next To Nothing,' which is the second single from their forthcoming self-titled debut album. The Dayoffs are Vladimir Komarov and Atsuo Matsumoto\u00a0- both are producers, having met in studio while working on other artists' output. Always busy working on other people's music, Vladimir and Atsuo recorded\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;music&quot;","block_context":{"text":"music","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=28"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Dayoffs","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/The_Dayoffs_1_-_photo_credit_Paul_Takeuchi.jpg?fit=1200%2C897&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/The_Dayoffs_1_-_photo_credit_Paul_Takeuchi.jpg?fit=1200%2C897&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/The_Dayoffs_1_-_photo_credit_Paul_Takeuchi.jpg?fit=1200%2C897&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/The_Dayoffs_1_-_photo_credit_Paul_Takeuchi.jpg?fit=1200%2C897&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/The_Dayoffs_1_-_photo_credit_Paul_Takeuchi.jpg?fit=1200%2C897&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45426"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45426\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45428,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45426\/revisions\/45428"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/45427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}