The Lottery Winners have postponed the release of their new album ‘KOKO’, citing “manufacturing challenges”.
The Manchester indie band were initially due to release their sixth studio record on February 21 via Modern Sky. It’ll feature Frank Turner (on ‘Dirt And Gold’), Nickleback‘s Chad Kroeger (‘Ragdoll’), Shed Seven (‘The Ceiling’) and Reverend & The Makers (‘You Again’).
Now, the group have confirmed that fans will have to wait a little longer to hear the full LP – which follows their first UK Number One album, 2023’s ‘Anxiety Replacement Therapy’.
“Due to manufacturing challenges, we’ve made the tough decision to postpone the release of our upcoming album, KOKO, by four weeks,” The Lottery Winners wrote in a statement on social media.
“The new release date is 21st March 2025, and we’re counting down the days until you can own it.”
They continued: “We’re incredibly proud of this record, our best work yet, and we sincerely apologise for the slight delay. We promise it’ll be worth the wait. Keep On Keeping On (Waiting). Thom, Kate, Rob, and Joe.”
To tide us over, The Lottery Winners will release ‘Dirt And Gold’ (feat. Frank Turner) this Friday (January 17). You can hear a preview snippet of the track by pre-saving it here.
Check out the posts below.
LW x @frankturner – Dirt and Gold is out this Friday and it’s a knockout.
Pre-save for a preview right now:https://t.co/nYvH2ldyfe pic.twitter.com/RO9Z6PIOdg
— Lottery Winners (@LotteryWinners) January 13, 2025
‘Keep on keeping on‘ is a motto that informed the title of the forthcoming ‘KOKO’. Speaking to NME last month, frontman Thom Rylance said that this hopeful message was “about the self-reflection and self-forgiveness [he] went through writing these songs”.
“I’m a sensitive baby, and sometimes I’ll have tantrums,” Rylance continued. “I feel things intensely. But it means I get to write songs that resonate with people. That’s all that matters.”
When asked if he felt any pressure in following up on a Number One album, the singer and guitarist responded: “Of course the pressure is back. Can we ever do this again? Do we want to? Yes, so we’ll throw everything at getting a second Number One album for Leigh.
“Getting that first Number One meant acceptance, that we’d broken into the industry despite all the uphill battles.”
Rylance told NME that ‘KOKO’ had already struck a chord with fans, explaining: “We seem to be doing OK with the new album so far. People are already getting tattoos of the artwork.”
Elsewhere in the interview, he discussed his recent comments about Kate Nash, the BRIT School and working-class musicians, and looked ahead to supporting Robbie Williams on his 2025 European tour. Rylance teased a potential future collaboration with the ‘Angels’ star too, saying: “That’s very much in my plans.”
He also reflected on how he managed to get Chad Kroeger involved in ‘KOKO’. “We supported [Nickleback] on tour,” Rylance told NME. “It was cool to hate Nickelback for so long, from when they were the first internet meme band. But they still sell out arenas all over the world, and their story inspires me, as they’re from humble beginnings too.”
The Lottery Winners are set to embark on their 2025 ‘Keep On Keeping On’ UK headline tour next month. Find any remaining tickets here.
The Lottery Winners – ‘KOKO’ cover artwork. CREDIT: Press
Additionally, the band will hit the UK festival circuit this year with slots scheduled at Isle Of Wight Festival, Kendal Calling, Bearded Theory and more.
In other news, The Lottery Winners were joined onstage by Happy Mondays’ Bez in Manchester last month, as well as Reverend & The Makers’ frontman Jon McClure, and a Boy George tribute act.
Pre-order/pre-save The Lottery Winners’ ‘KOKO’ here, and see the full tracklist below.
1. ‘Superpower’
2. ‘You Again’ (feat. Reverend and the Makers)
3. ‘Panic Attack’
4. ‘UFO’
5. ‘Ragdoll’ (feat. Chad Kroeger)
6. ‘Struggling’
7. ‘Turn Around’
8. ‘Monaco’
9. ‘Three Wishes’
10. ‘Dirt and Gold’ (feat. Frank Turner)
11. ‘The Ceiling’ (feat. Shed Seven)
The post The Lottery Winners postpone release of new album ‘KOKO’ due to “manufacturing challenges” appeared first on NME.