Mark Vennis & Different Place have kicked off 2026 with the release of a brand new album, Goodbye to All That. Teasing with ‘Empire Road’ and ‘The Beating of the Drum’ last year, they expand on that sharp, challenging and charged thematic focus with the new record.
Twelve tracks constitute the forty-five-minute runtime, digging into the contradictions that are baked into the British identity and facing the brutality of our collective past. Ideas of duty, tolerance and fair play sit uneasily alongside the darker legacies of empire, division and militarism. Vennis achieves this through punchy punk-rooted energy and classic rock bite. Both social urgency and an abrasive edge are present, steeped in influence from both musical and literary royalty. Though there is a historical weight to its backbone, it achieves its goals without feeling academic or distant, wrapping up the political points in thoughtful, reflective songwriting.
Speaking about the album, Mark explains, “It is an album about how we got here and what it means to be British, particularly pertinent given what is going on at the moment. The album’s title, ‘Goodbye to All That’, is a nod to Graves’ autobiography, which paints a haunting, darkly humorous picture of an officer’s experience on the frontline of World War I. A lot of these songs are about the cost of the empire on ordinary people, people who had nothing to gain from the riches pillaged from other countries. Our history casts a long shadow. The empire, British nativism, white supremacy, have we really said goodbye to all that?”
Hailing from Petersfield, Hampshire, Mark Vennis & Different Place have honed their writing since their formation in 2009. The four members, Mark Vennis, Dave Sweetenham, Sean Quinn, and Brian Gee, have shared stages with The Stranglers, The Cockney Rejects, Eddie Tempole and Alabama 3 across the UK and Europe.
Listen here…
