Joel Stoker (The Rifles frontman) introduces his new solo album The Undertow by sharing the lead single ‘My Own War’ – a song in which yearning, melancholic Americana and the cinematic flourishes provided by brass feels more in tune with the moodier moments of Lambchop or Calexico than anything The Rifles have ever released. While its title hints at the emotional turbulence of the album, the devil is revealed with the detail of its lyrics: “I play superior, but only for the show / I feel inferior with nowhere to go, and it’s cutting me down to the bone.”

The idea of a solo album emerged during lockdown. For the first time in a decade Joel was anchored at home with his family in Woodford, East London. He started writing songs in the studio at the bottom of his garden and was compelled to write his most introspective lyrics. As a musician from a generation where his male peers would rather hide their anxieties behind a wall of geezer-ish bravado, it also provided an outlet for him to address the issues that usually remain unspoken. The songs were subsequently further developed at his own Right Hook Recordings studio in Walthamstow. With drummer Brendan O’Neill and Rifles pianist Dean ‘Deano’ Mumford having laid down their parts, he added lead guitar, bass, harmonies and percussion himself, with the addition of brass and strings enhancing the widescreen feel.

Joel Stoker 2023 summer tour dates:

AUGUST
9th – London, KOKO (special guest to Liam Gallagher)

SEPTEMBER
2nd – London, Walthamstow Trades Hall
14th – Birmingham, Dead Wax
21st – Liverpool, Jimmy’s (upstairs)
22nd – Stockton-on-Tees, NE Volume Bar
28th – Preston, The Ferret

Pre-order the new album The Undertow HERE