The Big Takeover premieres department goes way back with London post-punk/new-wave legends the Monochrome Set, having unveiled their song “Suddenly Last Autumn” in August 2016 and the video for “I Feel Fine (Really)” in January 2018. Four years and one (ongoing) pandemic later, we are savouring the opportunity to exclusively roll out the latest single by ever-brilliant frontman Bid and his latest assemblage of ruffians.

“Box of Sorrows” is a new slice taken from the Monochrome Set’s forthcoming album, Allhollowtide, due for release March 11. Having amassed a formidable catalogue of releases on a number of key labels over five decades, including Rough Trade, Dindisc and Cherry Red, the Monochrome Set are ready to release their new studio album on Tapete Records — the band’s home for the last eight years and five albums.

Bid spoke exclusively with the Big Takeover about “Box of Sorrows,” and he said:

“So me and Eileen went down the funfare, and we saw the Tunnel of Love, but it weren’t, it said ‘Charnel Channel,’ so we got in this boat and it just went in, all by itself, and it were right dark and smelled real bad, there was these bodies floating about, no joke, then this weird choir started!”

(We’ll let you, dear reader, decipher on your own what Bid’s comments mean!)

Check out our stream of “Box of Sorrows” right here:

The indie-pop veterans are hard to pin down. Their instantly recognisable sound and darkly hilarious lyrics have always set them apart. Bid’s cerebral Brit-wit spikiness and debonair tones, melded to infectious melodies and deft songcraft of a cinematic and literary quality, have been quietly influential over a diverse set of artists since their inception and throughout different stages of their career. Thusly, the Monochrome Set can count the likes of Graham Coxon, Iggy Pop, Alex Kapranos, Neil Hannon, Johnny Marr and Jarvis Cocker as fans.

Allhallowtide, the Monochrome Set’s 16th album, is a collection of elegantly crafted pop songs, ornate melodies and sumptuous lyrics, all performed superbly by a rare and legendary band.

Bid is joined in the band’s latest incarnation by fellow original member Andy Warren on bass, Mike Urban on drums and newest recruit Athen Ayren on keyboards. For the album recording, Alice Healey provides backing vocals, with Karen Yarnell on percussion and Jon Clayton ponying up with additional instrumentation. The album was recorded at OneCat Studio in London, engineered by Clayton, and produced by Jon Clayton and Bid.

In addition to Bid’s comments, the band also provided the Big Takeover with a “fact check” on “Box of Sorrows”

“It has been scientifically proven that Hubert Des Égoûts does not have two faces even if it sometimes looks as if he does,” the band said. “This is an optical illusion, caused by impure thought. The charity ‘Fric Des Égoûts’ does not keep all of its donations; a substantial part of it is distributed to good causes that wish to remain anonymous. It is a clinical fact that it is medically impossible for M. Des Égoûts to be involved in global fraud. There is no evidence whatsoever that M. Des Égoûts funds fact checking sites.

For more on the Monochrome Set, go to the band’s website and/or Tapete Records’ website.