Big Big Train will issue a new live album “Are We Nearly There Yet?” on September 19th, 2025. Sub-titled “Live Around the World”, the album collects together a series of performances recorded in 2024 and 2025 on the band’s tours, which visited the UK, USA, Canada, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Norway, Denmark and Portugal as well as co-headlining Cruise To The Edge in both years. The album has been compiled by bassist Gregory Spawton and lead vocalist Alberto Bravin.
“Apart from Summer Shall Not Fade, which captured our show headlining the 2018 Night of The Prog festival in Germany, our previous live albums have been based around shows in London”, drummer Nick D’Virgilio explains. “Having spread our touring wings internationally much more in the last few years, we wanted to mix it up and release a live album drawn from the almost 40 shows we’ve played around the world since March 2024”.
“While our engineer Rob Aubrey will be spending the coming months taking the lead mixing our next studio album, mixing has fallen to me for ‘Are We Nearly There Yet?’, Alberto Bravin comments. “It’s been really interesting to go back through all the performances and choose what we thought were the most appropriate ones to include on this live release. That doesn’t always mean the best technical performance – sometimes a song had a unique vibe on a particular night which we wanted to celebrate”.
The first song to be made available from “Are We Nearly There Yet?” is “Black With Ink”, recorded in London in October 2024. “‘Black With Ink’ didn’t get massive attention when we originally released it on the ‘Common Ground’ album in 2021”, guitarist/keyboardist Rikard Sjoblom says. “I always thought it could be a kick ass tune live and that’s exactly how it turned out. Back when we originally recorded the song, it was David Longdon’s idea that the lead vocals should be shared around the band and on tour it has been real fun for me, Nick, Clare Lindley and Oskar Holldorff each to get to sing a verse”.
“Are We Nearly There Yet?” will be released via Big Big Train’s own label English Electric Recordings on 2CD and 3LP housed in a gatefold sleeve, via Bandcamp high resolution download and streaming. The 3LP version of the album will be available as limited edition 180 gram transparent violet vinyl (exclusive to Burning Shed and The Bandwagon USA) and 180 gram black vinyl. Pre-orders are available here and will be accompanied by a signed “Are We Nearly There Yet?” art card.
“Black With Ink” is available below.
Tracklist:
Part One – The Lives of Us:
1. Light Left in the Day
2. Oblivion
3. Beneath the Masts
4. Skates On
5. Miramare
6. Love is the Light*
7. Last Eleven
Part Two – The Lives of Others:
1. The First Rebreather
2. Black With Ink
3. A Mead Hall in Winter
4. Snowfalls
5. The Florentine*
6. The Transit of Venus Across the Sun
7. Apollo
* (Not on 3LP version)
