A Certain Ratio have announced details of a new album, produced by Speedy Wunderground label head Dan Carey, and an extensive UK tour slated for spring of 2024. It All Comes Down to This, drops on April 19th via Mute Records. The trio includes Jez Kerr, Martin Moscrop and Donald Johnson.

“It’s the Ratio removing the safety net,” Kerr says, explaining the decision to strip away the excess and return to the band’s base ingredients. “Every element of everything we’ve done on this album has been a change.”

“It wasn’t a matter of rubbing everyone else out, it was, ‘let’s find the thing that makes us work’,” adds Johnson. “And we know that’s just the three of us being as basic as possible – no frills, no major overdubs. Just visceral and happening in the moment.”

The other essential difference between It All Comes Down to This and its immediate predecessors is the recording process. After already working together on a remix for Loco Remezclada (2021), the band turned to the doyen of contemporary underground rock producers, Dan Carey (Black Midi, Kae Tempest, Black Country, New Road) to work on the album. Known for his rejection of sonic clutter and his uncompromising focus on the central tenets of the bands and artists he produces, Carey’s instincts are closely aligned with ACR’s desire to return to the basics.

“We wrote the album while the world was in turmoil,” explains Moscrop. “Which it still is. If you think about climate change, corporate war, the environment, Trump in power, Johnson, the Ukraine war, Israel and Palestine, it really does all come down to this. It’s probably the most political album we’ve written.”

In addition, Jez Kerr was dealing with specific personal darkness after an accident left him with a broken pelvis and fractured hip, and, on the day he was released from hospital, he contracted septic arthritis. His recovery meant that the recording of the album was delayed by six months, and the lasting impact of the experience inevitably dictates part of the album’s mood.

A Certain Ratio 2024 Tour Dates

4/25/2024 – Huddersfield, UK – The Parish
4/26/2024 – Leeds, UK – Brudenell
4/27/2024 – Blackpool, UK – Bootleg Social
4/28/2024 – Edinburgh, UK – Summerhall
4/29/2024 – Aberdeen, UK – The Tunnels
5/1/2024 – Norwich, UK – Arts Centre
5/2/2024 – London, UK – Fabric
5/3/2024 – Bedford, UK – Esquires
5/4/2024 – Portsmouth, UK – Wedgewood Rooms
5/5/2024 – Brighton, UK – Concorde 2
5/9/2024 – Birmingham, UK – Castle & Falcon
5/10/2024 – Hull, UK – Social
5/11/2024 – Sheffield, UK – Foundry
5/12/2024 – Bristol, UK – Exchange
5/17/2024 – Manchester, UK – New Century Hall

Pre-order It All Comes Down to This by A Certain Ratio HERE