The highly anticipated 15th Studio Album from The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican.
EVOLVER will mark a seismic shift as the Mk.IV line-up of the band make their studio debut.
According to Scott Doonican: "After 2022's 'Rugh & Ryf' was hailed by music critics and journalists as the Mk.III line-up's "masterpiece" (and who are we to disagree!), I didn't want us to rush straight back into the studio and get the follow-up wrong. We've always been a band who have continued to build on our past victories, and I feel that was proven by how right Alan, Bjorn and myself got 'Rugh & Ryf' - I was and still am very proud of what we did on that record. So stepping back into the studio, three years on, will be the longest amount of time between our studio albums. We've taken time to write 13 really strong and funny songs, many of which will follow in the foot-steps of previous Dooni-Anthems and become mainstays of future shows, but the process has changed massively. In the past I have always found the studio process quite solitary, recording everything meticulously and arranging a large part of what I wanted everyone to play... it worked great and the results are there on the past 14 albums for you to revisit. However, since the beginning of last year, the new line-up have proved that, like the previous incarnations of the band, we're a real force to be reckoned with, with every single one of us bringing a wealth of instruments and voices to the fore. It would be wrong of me to stifle the creativity by working the way we used to, and so this time around I wanted everyone to write, everyone to sing (and every Doonican will take lead vocals on a song), I wanted everyone to arrange their own parts and I wanted it to be the most organic album the band have ever recorded. It's a tall order, after Rugh & Ryf, but I have every confidence in both the band, the songs and our amazing fan-base. There's a reason that I wanted it to be called EVOLVER, and we can't wait for you to hear what we've been cooking up. Can you have two masterpieces? There's only one way to find out..."
The album will be recorded and produced by The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican collectively, and mixed and mastered by long-standing comrade and champion knob-twiddler, Joel Howe, who returns for his eighth studio album behind the mixing desk.
People who pre-order the album will also get a download code with the complete album, plus extras (live recordings and Scott's acoustic demos of the songs in their infancy).
ETA - Autumn 2025