John Foxx And The Maths return with a new line-up on their 5th studio album, Howl. Former Ultravox guitarist Robin Simon joins Foxx, Benge (Ben Edwards) and Hannah Peel after previously guesting with The Maths at their debut Roundhouse show in 2010. For years, Id wanted to work with Robin Simon again, says Foxx. Theres something central about what he does - and I always miss it, no matter who I work with. Its what Rob can do with a song, and with the sheer power of sound.Work on the album began back in April 2019 at Benges Memetune studios in Cornwall with Rob Simon involved right from the start, his contributions instantly mutating the original ideas into something new. Give him a song and hell give you three takes - all utterly different incarnations, enthuses Foxx who first worked with Simon on Ultravoxs Systems Of Romance album in 1978. And it will all be much better. Demolition intercision is what he does and when you get used to the violence he can wreak, its a true delight. The singer cites the title-track and first single Howl as a vivid example: Rob just walked in, did one take and left us all standing on the chairs. So I had to write another song around it. Benge did knockout bass and drums. A great experience and totally out of the blue. Foxx and Benge originally got together back in 2010, playing a headline show at the Roundhouse in London as the first ever John Foxx And The Maths show before theyd even finished their debut album, Interplay, which came out a few months later in 2011. Forward-looking, intuitive and risk taking from the start (Critic Mark Fisher summed them up as a glimpse into another world in which rock n roll was invented on Moogs) their passion for the strange sounds and atmospheres they seduce and rip from the machines in Benges studio has inspired a series of fiercely personal electronic records - the Shape Of Things (2012), Evidence (2013) and The Machine (2017), an eerie instrumental score for the theatre production of E.M. Forsters The Machine Stops. Benge is this generations Conny Plank, grins Foxx. He bears an uncanny resemblance to him - in every way. Own studio, generosity of spirit, clear vision, astute technical head, musically sound. Original thinker, open mind, eager conspirator in insanity and the desire to push everything beyond its limits and record it all perfectly - but holding no daft prejudices. In other words, the kind of captain you always want at the helm of the Enterprise. Hannah Peel joined the line-up on the Interplay tour in 2011 and has played every show since, while also adding violin to Evidence and of course, Howl. Hannah did a few star turns on the album, says Foxx, referring to the vicious noises that she conjured up as textures on a few songs. However on the electro-psychedelic Everything Is Happening At The Same Time, the complex interplay of the The Dance and the romantic longing of Strange Beauty, Foxx describes her string-led contributions as luscious, expansive and eloquent. the 1950s - a voice that is still searching across all these years for something just out of reach.