Public comments from Williams and his collaborators indicate that Britpop began taking shape early 2024, with the project developing alongside planning for Williams’ biopic Better Man. In September 2024, Williams said he had extensively recording all the year but was waiting to lock in release plans around the film before committing to a full album rollout.[2]
Later September 2024, his drummer and collaborator Karl Brazil stated that Williams worked with Tony Iommi on a rock track that would later be released as “Rocket”, signalling that recording and writing sessions were still underway by autumn 2024.[3]
Recording
The recording sessions for Britpop took place across multiple studios in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States, reflecting a fragmented and collaborative production process rather than a single-location band recording. According to the album credits, the project was developed primarily through a networked studio model, with core tracking, overdubs, programming and orchestral elements recorded in different locations.
The principal recording hubs were based in the United Kingdom, with Eastcote Studios in London and Green Nova Studios in Hitchin serving as recurring centres throughout the album’s production.[4] Additional UK sessions took place at Fish Factory Studios in London, The Cabin in Oxford, and LYL Studios in Birmingham, the latter notably hosting guitar overdubs by Tony Iommi for the opening track “Rocket”.[5]
Several tracks incorporated international recording sessions. Stockholm-based studios, including Atlantis Studios and To Whom It May Concern Studio, were used for selected overdubs and production work, particularly on tracks featuring electronic and synthesizer-driven arrangements.[6] Additional songwriting and recording sessions were conducted in Los Angeles, including work at The Pool House and The Freddy Wexler Company, reflecting the album’s hybrid approach combining British guitar music with contemporary pop production techniques.
Orchestral and string elements were recorded separately from the main band sessions. String overdubs for several tracks were captured in the United States, including sessions at Little Big Studio in Bellevue, Tennessee, and Wildwood Studio in Franklin, Tennessee.[7] The album’s closing track, “It’s OK Until the Drugs Stop Working”, featured a full orchestral recording at Synchron Stage Vienna in Austria, involving a dedicated scoring session with orchestra contractors and engineers credited independently from the main recording process.[8]
Although his previous albums saw his collaboration with songwriters Guy Chambers, Tim Metcalfe and Flynn Francis, this time the production team was led by Williams alongside drummer Karl Brazil and songwriter Owen Parker, who contributed extensively as co-writers, instrumentalists and programmers.
The sessions frequently combined live band performance with programmed elements, overdubbed guitars, synthesizers and layered vocal arrangements, supporting critics’ observations that Britpop blends guitar-based pop and rock with modern studio-driven production aesthetics.[9]
Release and promotion
After more than one year of work, Williams announced the release of Britpop on 21 May 2025. He stated,
"I set out to create the album that I wanted to write and release after I left Take That in 1995. It was the peak of Britpop and a golden age for British Music. I've worked with some of my heroes on this album; it's raw, there are more guitars and it's an album that's even more upbeat and anthemic than usual. There's some 'Brit' in there and there's certainly some 'pop' too – I'm immensely proud of this as a body of work and I'm excited for fans to hear this album".[10]
On 19 August 2025, Williams announced a concert at Dingwalls in Camden Town, London, for 9 October 2025 in promotion of the album, dubbed as Long 90's. Marked as the smallest ticketed show of his career to date, it saw him perform both his debut solo album Life thru a Lens and Britpop in full.[11] Following the show, Williams announced further Long 90's performances in similarly smaller venues for February 2026, taking place in Glasgow, Liverpool, London and Wolverhampton.[12]
On 16 September 2025, the album's release date was delayed from the original date of 10 October 2025 to 6 February 2026, to avoid competing with The Life of a Showgirl by Taylor Swift.[13][14] Williams said: "I could pretend it's not, but it is. It's selfish. I want a 16th No 1 album."[15]
On 16 January 2026, the standard edition of the album was surprise released on digital platforms without prior announcement.[16] The deluxe version of the album was digitally released on 19 January 2026.[17]
Music style and themes
Although titled Britpop, reviews noted that the album uses the 1990s British guitar-pop era primarily as a pretext: it blends Britpop signifiers (anthemic choruses, retro indie guitars) with pivotal stylistic departures into glam-rock, synth-pop, electronic ballad, orchestral pop and other contemporary rock textures.[18][19][20]
Lyrically, critics noted Williams oscillating between self-mythology and self-awareness—writing about fame, identity, public perception and vulnerability—while also including more character-driven or referential pieces.[21][22]
Songs
The opening track, “Rocket”, featuring Tony Iommi, is characterised as a hard-edged, guitar-driven introduction that establishes a heavier sonic palette than traditionally associated with Britpop, while also signalling the album’s glam and theatrical approach to rock performance.[23] “Spies” is the record’s clearest stylistic reference to 1990s guitar pop, combining dense distorted guitars with nostalgic lyrical themes connected to youth and excess, though critics noted that its melodic construction exceeds straightforward pastiche.[24] In contrast, “Bite Your Tongue” is rhythmically fragmented and vocal-led, incorporating talk-singing and hip-hop-inflected phrasing more closely aligned with contemporary pop than with Britpop tradition.[25]
Other tracks were interpreted as deliberate stylistic role-play. “Cocky” is a glam-rock pastiche built on exaggerated bravado with performative rather than autobiographical tone.[26] “All My Life” has verses typical of a soft ballad and a chorus reminiscent of Oasis.[27]
“Morrissey”, co-written with Gary Barlow, is as an ironic and theatrical synth-pop composition whose glossy electronic production contrasts sharply with guitar-based nostalgia, functioning as both homage and satire.[28] “You” is a track with verses built on a funky and synth pop sound with a chorus reminiscent of Britpop melancholy. “Human”, an electronic ballad addressing artificial intelligence and emotional connection, is as one of the album’s emotional centres, further underlining its contemporary thematic concerns despite the retro framing.[29] The closing track “It’s OK Until the Drugs Stop Working” is interpreted as a late-1960s-styled orchestral pop piece, with critics identifying echoes of pre-glam British pop and baroque arrangements rather than Britpop itself.[30]
The deluxe edition extends these themes through additional tracks that further emphasise self-reflection and stylistic quotation. “Selfish Disco” is described as a meta-commentary on pop stardom that begins as a glam-leaning ballad before shifting into flamboyant disco-pop, reinforcing the album’s interest in theatrical transformation.[31] “Comment Section” addresses online discourse and public judgement, aligning thematically with the album’s recurring focus on fame and visibility.[32] The inclusion of “Desire”, released as an official FIFA anthem in collaboration with Laura Pausini, underscores the project’s continued engagement with large-scale international pop alongside its introspective and referential material.[33]
Singles
On 21 May 2025, alongside the announcement of the album and tease of the album cover artwork, Williams released the lead single, "Rocket". The single features English rock guitarist, and Black Sabbath co-founder and member, Tony Iommi.[34][35] The single debuted at number 36 on the UK Singles Sales Chart.[36] A ballad-style reworking of the single, retitled "Pocket Rocket", was released on 13 June 2025.[37]
Williams, who was named the FIFA Music Ambassador on 14 June 2025,[38] and Laura Pausini released "Desire" as the official FIFA anthem on 11 July 2025.[39] They performed the song live in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final two days later.[40] The single is set to be included in the deluxe edition of Britpop.[41]
On 18 July 2025, "Spies" was released as the second single.[42]
On 21 August 2025, "Human" was released as the third single; the song features Mexican pop duo Jesse & Joy.[43][44]
On 10 October 2025, "Pretty Face" was released as the fourth single; it became the album's best performing single, charting at number 14 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart.[45] The official music video was released on 6 November 2025.[46]
"All My Life" was released as the fifth single on 16 January 2026, alongside the release of an official lyric video.[47]
Commercial performance
Britpop became Williams' sixteenth number one album on the UK Albums Chart, surpassing The Beatles as the act with the most UK number one albums.[48] The album also debuted at numbers one, four and three, on the UK Album Sales, Downloads and Vinyl charts, respectively.[49]
Britpop received generally positive reviews from music critics. On review aggregator Metacritic, the album holds a score of 74 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews", based on contemporary critical assessments.[60]
Writing for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis described the album as “the music Williams wanted to make when he left Take That”, noting that its strongest moments “surpass pastiche and swerve unpredictably”. While he felt that some tracks echo late-period Oasis rather than the genre’s peak years, he praised the album’s melodic confidence and concluded that it remains “hugely enjoyable” despite its conceptual looseness.[61]
Clash gave the album an 8/10 rating, with Gareth James praising its energy and craftsmanship. He highlighted tracks such as “Spies” and “Pretty Face”, stating that the record plays to Williams’s long-established strengths and represents some of his most confident songwriting in years.[62]
Reviewing the album for Rolling Stone UK, Nick Reilly characterised Britpop as “a rollicking love letter to the 1990s”. He praised the swagger of the opening track “Rocket” and described the record as one of Williams’s most openly fun and self-aware releases in recent years.[63]
The Independent awarded the album three out of five stars, calling it “an unabashed joyride” driven by anthemic choruses and guitar-led arrangements. While noting occasional lyrical excess, she praised Williams’s vocal performance and highlighted “All My Life” and “Morrissey” as standout tracks.[64]
NME was more reserved, awarding the album three out of five stars. Andrew Trendell described Britpop as a nostalgic and self-aware project that balances bravado with introspection, though he suggested that it functions more as a celebratory diversion than a major artistic statement.[65]
In a more critical assessment, Kate Mossman of the New Statesman argued that the album contains relatively little traditional Britpop, instead reflecting Williams’s established glam-rock and pop sensibilities. She suggested that the title functions more as an expression of personal mythology than a strict stylistic descriptor.[66]
Writing for Dork, Dan Harrison awarded the album four out of five stars, describing it as both an ego-driven spectacle and an unexpectedly reflective work. He praised its momentum and sense of fun while acknowledging that its heavy referencing occasionally risks over-familiarity.[67]
Overall, critics characterised Britpop as a spirited and self-conscious return to guitar-driven pop, applauding its confidence and entertainment value even as some questioned the coherence of its Britpop framing.
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