PETER MURPHY : ‘Silver Shade’ – new album by iconic post-punk singer out today
new album
2xLP | CD | digital
out 9th May 2025
(Metropolis Records)
stream | Bandcamp
“It’s all high drama, dark figures and wild impulses. Hugely entertaining, and when Murphy sings ‘this is the meaning of my life’, you don’t doubt it for a second”
MOJO
“A deliciously bubbling cauldron seasoned with ladles of Scott Walker melodrama and a generous pinch of Bowie-inspired balladry”
UNCUT
“Far more contemporary than you might expect, with Murphy’s baritone as strong as ever. Another fruitful collaboration with Youth”
CLASSIC POP
“Glistens in the dark, displaying a myriad of visages and moving subtly between the playful, sombre and iridescent”
VIVE LE ROCK
“His ability to conjure up romanticised imagery from sometimes abstract but descriptive verse sets him apart from his peers. An album that oozes quality”
BLITZED
“Great songs that show Murphy in superb form, especially vocally. This comeback could hardly have been more brilliant”
SONIC SEDUCER (DE)
“The songs are instantly catchy and, despite a certain retro charm, exude contemporary relevance”
ORKUS (DE)
“A magical piece that definitely justifies the long wait”
CLASSIC ROCK (DE)
includes the singles
SWOON
THE ARTROOM WONDER
+
SILVER SHADE
YouTube audio
Having issued ‘Let The Flowers Grow’ (a surprise duet with Boy George) as a standalone single in late 2024, original post-punk icon Peter Murphy has followed it in 2025 with the majestic synth-punk/funk hybrid ‘Swoon’ (featuring Trent Reznor) and the stridently epic ‘The Artroom Wonder’ (featuring Justin Chancellor of Tool).
Both singles are included on Murphy’s new album, ‘Silver Shade’, which is out today (9th May) on 2xLP, CD and digitally via Metropolis Records, while ‘Let The Flowers Grow’ has been added to the tracklisting as a bonus song.
Produced by Youth (Pink Floyd, The Verve, Crowded House, member of Killing Joke, The Orb, The Firemen) at his studio in Spain, ‘Silver Shade’ is Murphy’s tenth studio album and a long-awaited follow-up to ‘Lion’, which the pair worked on together a decade ago. A symbiotic relationship born of artistic collaboration, Murphy states that “this new album is as powerful as any of my work to date.”
The album title song features another guest vocal contribution from Reznor, while Danny Carey of Tool plays drums. “’Silver Shade’ captures the stillness after the storm; haunted, reflective and raw,” explains Murphy. “It is about a King letting go of his slaves. It’s not about nostalgia or reinvention, but quiet reckoning.”
SILVER SHADE
TRACKLISTING
1 Swoon
2 Hot Roy
3 Sherpa
4 Silver Shade
5 The Artroom Wonder
6 Meaning Of My Life
7 Xavier New Boy
8 Cochita Is Lame
9 Soothsayer
10 Time Waits
11 Sailmaker’s Charm
12 Let The Flowers Grow (with Boy George)
PETER MURPHY | live photo by E Gabriel Edvy
Peter Murphy’s solo career began in 1986 with the release of ‘Should The World Fail To Fall Apart’, with this and his eight other studio albums to date spawning fan favourites such as ‘Cuts You Up’, ‘A Strange Kind Of Love’, ‘All Night Long’, ‘Indigo Eyes’, ‘The Prince & Old Lady Shade’ and ‘I’ll Fall With Your Knife’.
Prior to this, Murphy had fronted Bauhaus, who emerged from the fertile UK post-punk scene in 1979 with the release of their debut single, ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead’, often considered to be the very first gothic rock record. The band went on to record four seminal albums before initially splitting in 1983, as well as further classic singles such as ‘Dark Entries’, ‘The Passion Of Lovers’, ‘Lagartija Nick’ and ‘She’s In Parties’. They also had a UK Top 20 hit with a cover version of ‘Ziggy Stardust’.
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