We’re sure many of you have asked yourselves the question: “When the hell are Simple Plan finally coming out with that new album of theirs? It’s been forever!” And we absolutely wouldn’t blame you. It’s true – Simple Plan’s last record (Taking One For The Team) came out 4 years ago and ever since fall of 2018, the boys have been working hard on their next studio effort and finally reached the studio in the summer of 2019 and then again this January for some final recordings.
So where is the record? In his recent Instagram Live stream, Simple Plan’s lead singer Pierre Bouvier was asked by one of the fans when they can expect the new record to be released, to which Pierre confirmed the official completion of the album. He replied:
“The album is done! Pretty much… We’re just figuring out how to release it and what we’re gonna do.. That’s the real question. Cause right now is a very weird time. We can just put it out, but how do we support it? How do we go on tour? You know…”
– Pierre Bouvier –
Originally, the album was promised to be out in spring/summer 2020, but unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the entire world, separated all the band members, isolating them in their homes in Canada and the U.S., and overall had a major negative impact on the touring industry. Public gatherings in most countries are banned, social isolation is recommended and therefore due to the inability to hold live concerts, many bands and their crew members have now lost their work opportunities. Live Nation has in fact set up a relief fund for struggling crew members (sound and instrument technicians, merch guys, lighting directors…) – if you’d like to donate, you can do so here.
But why can’t they just release the album on Spotify, if it’s all ready to go, you ask? As Pierre mentioned in his reply, they obviously could do that very easily – but as Simple Plan consider themselves a touring band, their most important asset is their live performances. So a promotion in the form of live performances – whether it’s concerts, festivals or radio appearances – is super important in order to spread the word about the new album and promote it to new (and old) fans before its release. In short: without promotion, Simple Plan would lose the opportunity to reach out to new audiences with an album they put 2 years of work into. And if they released the record now and toured half a year later, no-one would be as excited to hear the new songs as they would have been when the record just dropped.
Of course, there is also the issue of Simple Plan not having signed to a new record label just yet – under which the record should be released (since their Atlantic Records deal ended with their 5th album). The potential input of the record label when it comes to the promotion of the new record is also very important to take in consideration. As of right now, there are no official news about Simple Plan signing with a new label just yet, so the doors are still open for SP.
Looks like we’re gonna have to wait just a little longer to hear new SP music – until things calm down a bit. If you’re interested to know more about the 6th studio album that Simple Plan have been working on hard for the past few years, have a look at our special section, where we’ve gathered all the news and information we know about the album so far:
