Later Youth, the recording name of multi-instrumentalist, producer and serial-collaborator Jo Dudderidge, has announced a debut long-player entitled ‘Living History’ that will be released 4th July via his own label Sideways Saloon.
Along with the announcement, he has shared new song "Enabler". Resting on Dudderidge's signature expressive electric piano, the song is a dark lyrical examination of the autosuggestive nature of desire. Dudderidge explains, “It's easy to blame a certain friend or situation for bringing out the devil in us, but maybe we're our own enablers”.
As the song progresses, the verses shift the perspective, matching the creeping feelings of disorientation on a familiar night out, starting with promise but ending in anxiety and regret. "I wasn’t really asking a question—I already knew the answer. It was more a quiet admission that I kept making the same choices, hoping for a different outcome."
Listen to “Enabler” here
Watch the official visualiser here
On the album itself, Dudderidge expands, “Writing and performing songs can be a bit like historical reenactment - the further you move away from the person you used to be, the harder it becomes to separate fact from fiction. After years of moving around I suddenly found myself standing still. In that moment I was able to look back clearly enough to see this particular period of my life for what it was.”
Recording the album has been both a cathartic and a celebratory process. "The songs on the album flip between a eulogy and an elegy to this not-so-distant past”, Dudderidge continues. Along with today's new track “Enabler”, the album features earlier singles “Arcane Love” and “Nuclear Love”, which featured on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch Playlist.
Since fronting Manchester indie-folk favourites The Travelling Band, Jo Dudderidge has built a reputation as a sought-after producer, songwriter and session musician, working with an impressive roster of artists including Victoria Canal, Chloe Foy, Rose Gray, Stephen Fretwell, Human Interest, Joyeria, Bette Smith, and longtime collaborator Lissie.
Stepping back into the spotlight as Later Youth, Dudderidge returns his unmistakable voice and signature Wurlitzer electric piano to centre stage, blending raw, heart-on-sleeve lyricism with fresh, idiosyncratic takes on classic rock, soul, blues, and alt-country.
‘LIVING HISTORY’ – TRACKLIST
1. Arcane Love
2. Nuclear Love
3. Hotel Venezuela
4. Enabler
5. The Lurker
6. Make It Right
7. Statuesque
8. Hollow
9. The Wave
10. On The Missing (feat. Lissie)
11. The Ballad Of Charlie
The album will be available on vinyl (including a limited edition indies/D2C-only cream version), CD, download and streaming.
LIVE
9 May - The Drawingroom, Chesham
17 May - Wood Festival, Oxfordshire
22 May - Gullivers, Manchester
23 May - Cafe #9, Sheffield
24 May - Cafe #9, Sheffield
29 May - The Grace, London
5 June - The Social, London (Album Preview Show)
For more information: