Neneh Cherry will release her fifth solo album, the Four Tet-produced Broken Politics, on October 19th via Small Supersound/Awal Recordings. The singer previewed the record with the hushed, tense “Shot Gun Shack,” which alludes to cycles of fear and violence. “Pick up the gun, you know you gonna use it,” she sings over a trip-hop-styled beat. “You know that gun is gonna get loaded/ Say my name before you pull it.”

In a statement, Cherry said the song title was inspired by a conversation she had at the funeral of late jazz icon Ornette Coleman. “I don’t even remember who said it, but I was like, ‘Shotgun shack! That’s a cool term,’” she said, detailing the single’s lyrical themes. “It’s about gun culture – the notion of war zones and the tragedies that guns bring there. The dealing of arms. Street culture. The gun is a powerful thing – dangerous, but powerful.”

The Swedish songwriter spoke about the fruitful creative process behind Broken Politics, which follows 2014’s Blank Project. “It was one of the best writing periods I’ve had in a really long time,” she said. “I got out of the waiting room and into the inner sanctum.”

Cherry also addressed the album title. “I’m very shy about taking on big themes with the airs that I’ve got a solution – who has the fucking solutions?” she said. “I like writing from a personal perspective, and the time we live in is so much about finding your own voice. People have been left feeling misheard, misunderstood, and disillusioned. What the fuck can I do? Maybe politics starts in your bedroom, or your house – a form of activism, and a responsibility. The album is about all of those things: feeling broken, disappointed, and sad, but having perseverance. It’s a fight against the extinction of free thought and spirit.”

“Shot Gun Shack” is her second sample of Broken Politics, following “Kong,” a co-production between Four Tet and Massive Attack’s 3D. Cherry has four headlining concerts booked for September: the 6th in Stockholm, Sweden; the 11th in Ramsgate, England; 12th in London, England; and the 26th in Paris, France.

Neneh Cherry – Broken Politics Track List 

1. “Fallen Leaves”
2. “Kong”
3. “Poem Daddy”
4. “Synchronised Devotion”
5. “Deep Vein Thrombosis”
6. “Faster Than The Truth”
7. “Natural Skin Deep”
8. “Shot Gun Shack”
9. “Black Monday”
10. “Cheap Breakfast Special”
11. “Slow Release”
12. “Soldier”