For those curious, after 2017’s Other, Alison Moyet took time away from the music industry to study Fine Art Printmaking at Brighton University and in 2023 graduated with a first-class degree BA (Hons).

But she’s now back with this new record to celebrate her 40th year as a solo artist and has announced a world tour for next year.

The new album, entitled Key (out now via Cooking Vinyl) features 16 re-recorded songs and two new tracks and has been created with her longtime producer, arranger and musical director Sean McGhee, with the ‘reimagined’ tracks made up from “singles, fan favorites and deep cuts”.

Alison says, “I wanted to take the opportunity to look at the trajectory of the past four decades and explore songs that, in their original form, were never fully realized or have had their relevance to me altered by time.”

Other reworked tracks include ‘Love Resurrection’, ‘Where Hides Sleep’ (both from ‘Alf’), ‘Is This Love’, ‘Can’t Say It Like I Mean It’ and ‘This House,’and one of the new tracks is called ‘Such Small Ale’.

1. Where Hides Sleep (Key version)
2. All Cried Out (Key version)
3. Such Small Ale 4. All Signs of Life (Key version)
5. Can’t Say It Like I Mean It (Key version)
6. Fire (Key version)
7. Filigree (Key version)
8. The Impervious Me 9. More (Key version)
10. Is This Love? (Key version)
11. Tongue Tied (Key version)
12. My Right A.R.M. (Key version)
13. So Am I (Key version)
14. My Best Day (Key version)
15. World Without End (Key version)
16. This House (Key version)
17. Love Resurrection (Key version)
18. You Don’t Have To Go (Key version)

On an album that distills 40 years of music making, presenting a cohesive overview of a long and dazzling journey, Alison opens up her brand new recording on Key versions of the ethereally stoic Where Hides Sleep (from ALF), the newly-effective All Cried Out (also from Alf), and the soaring gossamer within the first of two new tracks Such Small Ale, and then we get brought forth Key versions of the sumptuous All Signs of Life (from her underrated The Minutes), the synth-infused beauty Can’t Say It Like I Mean It (from The Turn), an impassively crafted Fire (from The Turn), and then we get the emotional Filigree (from The Minutes), the euphorically upbeat second new track The Impervious Me, and the Key version of the low slung foot-tapper More (from Hometime).

Along next are more Key versions of her tracks, such as the hauntingly reworked Is This Love? (from Raindancing), the exquisitely sublime Tongue Tied (from Hometime) and the empyreal feel that flows through My Right A.R.M. (from Hoodoo), and they are in turn followed seamlessly by one of her lesser-discovered gems, the beautiful So Am I (from Essex), the robustly rhythmic My Best Day (a song she co-wrote with Ian Broudie for The Lightning Seeds’ third album, Jollification), the dutifully sombre tones of World Without End, the album rounding out on the quietly melodious This House (from Hoodoo), a soulful rendition of her beloved Love Resurrection (from Alf), coming to a close on the nostalgically-hued You Don’t Have To Go (from Hometime).

Alison has created the artwork for the new album and Cooking Vinyl are going very BIG with this release with an enormous array of colored vinyl and special editions. Amazon in the UK have ‘alternative artwork’ versions of the CD edition and 2LP orange vinyl, both signed, for example.

Additionally Rough Trade in the UK are offering the indies black and white splatter 2LP colored vinyl edition, in addition to a 2LP white vinyl version (which appears to be the standard version), while HMV have a yellow and back smoke vinyl 2LP set and The Sound of Vinyl have an exclusive black and white marbled vinyl.

The official Alison Moyet shop adds a turquoise marble 2LP vinyl to the list and has bundles with signed prints. That’s six different colored vinyl already with possibly more to come!

All Cried Out (Key Version)