{"id":2271305,"date":"2026-02-07T12:59:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T12:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2271305"},"modified":"2026-02-07T12:59:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T12:59:09","slug":"feature-a-new-international-internation-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/feature-a-new-international-internation-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Feature: A New International &#8211; Internation success"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><!--IMAGE\/AMAZON BEGIN--><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<!--IMAGE\/AMAZON END--><\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s nothing wrong with good old three chord pop music \u2013 tune in, tap your feet, sing along.<span id=\"more-38132\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Similarly, there\u2019s nowt wrong with music that makes you think. Clever erudite lyrics that carry a message, set to smart instrumentations and shifting, multi-cultural rhythms.<\/p>\n<p>A New International are in the latter category \u2013 and while they can carry a singalong chorus with the best of them, new album \u2018Operation Internation\u2019 shows what they do best.<\/p>\n<p>Having released music sporadically over the last decade (and previously, as a slightly different lineup as The Starlets) they\u2019ve finally put out their fourth album. Beginning life as their second (\u201cwe were blown off course by The Dark Carnival and Covid\u201d), frontman Biff Smith says), \u2018Operation Internation\u2019 follows the acclaimed \u2018Come To The Fabulon\u2019.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"To Find Jerusalem\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uniaYDYwiRg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Its (actual) predecessor \u2018The Dark Carnival\u2019 soundtracked a stage play, but while their latest, 20-track effort doesn\u2019t go quite that far for the cause, it still has that ambitious feel, while there are high production values in the artwork, the cover\u2019s black\/white mugshots giving a very Cold War \/ espionagey look.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a general theme of internationalism, in whatever form that takes \u2013 espionage and immigration are forms of cultural exchange,\u201d Smith explains. \u201cStadium chants bring warring tribes together. Tango music, marginalised at home, found an audience and a liberation on the other side of the world.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith Philby and Fawkes there is the internationalist principle that one\u2019s country is not one\u2019s government.\u201d  <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019d say there\u2019s also a subtext and celebration of how culture flourishes in forgotten or forbidden spaces,\u201d the singer continues. \u201cI\u2019m interested in the margins of life; the areas which power and the mainstream have (so far) overlooked and haven\u2019t yet monetised. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cLinking it all is the romantic idea that another world is possible. I think it\u2019s a very romantic album. Although, I daresay they all are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And musically, the band aim high too \u2013 incorporating the massed voices of the Glasgow School of Art choir and the strings of the Up North Session Orchestra.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Here Comes the High Life\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/F9Qq-TeSwrM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>\u201cLess is more!  Or at least, different,\u201d Smith muses. \u201c\u2018Operation Internation\u2019 was a bit of an everything and the kitchen-sink production, featuring a cast of (near) thousands.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The music also spans Europe and beyond drawing influences that show up in musical styles like the tango, the polka, etc\u2026.  <\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor me, it\u2019s an embracing of the anarchy of musical taste, and the liberation that comes with that,\u201d the band\u2019s frontman enthuses. \u201cAs eternally searching, curious, capricious humans, we like what we like; and what we like can often surprise us.  Like many people, I love a variety of music.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I love the idea of a band that reflects that; a band that sounds like a variety show.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Smith and the band never stop looking for new sounds, new ways of creating new music, and the follow up to \u2018Operation Internation\u2019 is already in the works, and it may again sound quite different to its predecessors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor album # 5, I\u2019m inspired by the thought of a more minimal approach, based on whatever noise we, as a band, can make ourselves,\u201d Smith muses. \u201cIt\u2019s sounding a bit more rootsy so far.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re at an age now where we might get away with going country,\u201d he adds with tongue in cheek. Well, probably. Fans of A New International can always rely on the unexpected, especially when it comes to musical style..<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think genre is useful for filing purposes but it\u2019s something to be played with, not shackled by,\u201d Smith concludes. \u201cIf you go to a carnival, you don\u2019t want to go on only one ride.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd music is a carnival.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2018Operation Internation\u2019 is out now. A shortened version of this article originally appeared in the Yorkshire Evening Post.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>More at <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/anewinternational.com\">anewinternational.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><iframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=2248096543\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" seamless=\"\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/anewinternational.bandcamp.com\/album\/operation-internation\">Operation Internation by A New International<\/a><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"abh_box abh_box_down abh_box_business\">\n<div class=\"abh_tab_content\">\n<section class=\"vcard author abh_about_tab abh_tab\" itemscope=\"\" itemprop=\"author\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Person\" style=\"display:block\">\n<div class=\"abh_text\">\n<div class=\"description note abh_description\" itemprop=\"description\">Writing about alternative music for what seems like thirty years (turns out that&#8217;s because it is). <br \/>Also chief newshound at <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jockrock.org\">Jockrock<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"abh_posts_tab abh_tab\">\n<div class=\"abh_text\">\n<div class=\"abh_name\">Latest posts by Stuart McHugh <span class=\"abh_allposts\">(<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.isthismusic.com\/author\/stuart\">see all<\/a>)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"jp-relatedposts-headline\"><em>Related<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.isthismusic.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s nothing wrong with good old three chord pop music \u2013 tune in, tap your feet, sing along. Similarly, there\u2019s nowt wrong with music that makes you think. Clever erudite lyrics that carry a message, set to smart instrumentations and shifting, multi-cultural rhythms. A New International are in the latter category \u2013 and while they [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2271306,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2271305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Feature-A-New-International-Internation-success.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2271305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2271305"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2271305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2271307,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2271305\/revisions\/2271307"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2271306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2271305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2271305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2271305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}