The superb progressive rock band Big Big Train is set to release their 15th studio album, The Likes Of Us, on March 1st, 2024. The album is Big Big Train’s first full assortment of songs since the unexpected passing of cherished lead vocalist David Longdon in late 2021.
Today, the band unveiled a second track taken from the upcoming album. ‘Miramare’ is an edited version of a song that appears in a longer format on The Likes Of Us. You can watch the video for ‘Miramare’, crafted by Miles Skarin of Crystal Spotlight, here:
Gregory Spawton says of the track: “BBT is known for its story songs, and I was keen to find a story which is set in Italy. Alberto lives in Trieste and mentioned the story of Maximilian and Carlotta, which was both a romantic (but doomed) love story and also a tale of the end of empires.
Miramare was their castle home, a castle of dreams, set on the shore just outside Trieste. It turned out to be a grand folly and a place of madness and nightmares. Alberto had written a lovely piece of music and melody to set the words to, and so it was simply a process of reading some books on the history and finding the way to tell the story.”
Alberto Bravin adds: “Having grown up in Trieste, and recently returned here after living for some years in London and Milan, the Miramare castle has been a backdrop for most of my life.
Putting the story of Maximilian and Carlotta into music with Greg has been hugely satisfying for me. It was very fulfilling to co-write this song together and create what will hopefully be regarded as a Big Big Train future classic. With all its twists and turns as the story progresses, Miramare should be great to play live as well.”
(headline image: Big Big Train – Photo by Massimo Goina)