New Charlotte Church Album “Back to Scratch” Available Stateside Early 2011

Welsh singer-songwriter Charlotte Church is readying a new album — her first compilation of new material in more than a decade — for release stateside early next year.

One things for sure though, Church’s next effort will be unlike anything we’ve heard from the crooner before.

“I grew out of the R&B stage when I was 16, it got a bit boring. I’ve been obsessed with Jeff Buckley since I was 16, and in the past four years that led me to different musical avenues – folk and more rock stuff,” Charlotte explains. “I went to see Mark Lanegan recently, and that was a bit of a trip. His voice is phenomenal and I found it quite tough to watch, but he’s completely mesmerising. I’d love to sing with him. I saw Iron & Wine and that was amazing.”

Charlotte’s also rather disenchanted with the current state of modern pop.

“When I turn on the radio it’s just a horrible noise – nothing’s organic, everything is to click and Auto-tuned to within and inch of its life so everyone sounds the same,” she says. “It’s all so synth-heavy with the same old riffs and I think, ‘come on now, branch out folks.’ At the top of the market it’s getting so limited it’s going to have to implode.”

The new disc, Back to Scratch (not to be confused with the Amy Winehouse epic Back to Black), features an assortment of tracks mostly penned by the mother of two, 24 — who first rose to fame with the release of her debut album, Voice of An Angel, 12 years ago.