Anna Meredith Announces 'DARLING' Album Release for February 12

Anna Meredith announces her first studio album in five years, DARLING, set for release on February 12, 2027, via Mercury KX. This follows her Mercury Prize-nominated 2019 album FIBS.

Album Format and Availability

The album will be available in multiple physical and digital formats. These include a standard vinyl edition, a CD, and a digital download. A limited-edition double 12-inch vinyl set pressed on Flumps Pink vinyl will also be released. On this special edition, the music is split over three sides.

Album Concept and Themes

Anna Meredith described the album as a channelling of intensity, energy and euphoria. She aimed to summon motion, tension and release through the music, creating a conduit for energy and joy. The project is a response to feeling overwhelmed by her circumstances and the wider world. Meredith wanted to push through her brain and body during this time. Her intention was for the album to sit with more confidence than ever before. She balanced careful detail in dense and complex music with a deliberate sense of openness.

Track 'Dusky' and Video

The opening track, Dusky, acts as a daring stylistic marker for the album. Meredith wrote much of it to build towards a heavy chugging metal electric guitar riff for her bandmate, guitarist Jack Ross. She described the piece as four tracks in one, with each stage of its journey inhabiting a distinct identity. The track is a frantic flurry of sound, full of rhythmic energy, brightly bursting synths, and the sound of regal brass letting its hair down. It includes polyrhythms, parpy brass, metric modulations, and waily synths. Meredith worked to make the arrival of the guitar riff feel both entirely right and utterly unexpected. The track makes her whoop with joy and silliness every time. It sets up reveals and rug pulls in the sections to follow on the album.

A video for Dusky was created with director Ewan Jones Morris. Jones Morris used handmade elements like plasticine figures and scalpel-cut shapes mounted on sticks, which were later assembled digitally. The video's curtains and doors were inspired by a conversation about moving through portals into unexpected rooms. Faces were introduced to suggest different emotional states as the track progresses.

Album Tracklist and Background

DARLING is an 11-track album that marks the end of a lengthy wait for new material from Meredith. She said the tracks are longer, bolder, wilder and simpler than anything on her previous albums. The album emphasizes balancing detailed composition with openness. Meredith wanted to lean into a technicolour version of what her music can be. She reached for higher highs and greater twists and turns. Her aim was to create a unique experience for herself and those she brings along. The full tracklist is as follows:

Anna Meredith also recently scored the upcoming feature film Wicker. The album DARLING will be released on February 12, 2027.