After the release of the band's 11th studio album Who We Touch (2010), drummer Jon Brookes was diagnosed with brain cancer, and subsequently died in mid-2013.
Described as a pop album, Modern Nature featured contributions from the High Llamas frontman Sean O'Hagan, as well as gospel vocals from Melanie Marshall and Sandra Marvin.
Following the release of the Charlatans' 11th studio album Who We Touch (2010), drummer Jon Brookes was diagnosed with brain cancer while on tour in the United States; he was temporarily replaced by the Verve member Pete Salisbury, at the recommendation.
[10] The band congregated at a beach house in Rye where the recorded ideas using a portable studio and drums courtesy of a mobile app.
[13][3] The members intentionally wanted to make an uplifting record; some songs were worked on between Burgess and Collins, bassist Mark Blunt and Rogers, or the whole band.
[18] Some of the upbeat songs, such as "So Oh" and "Let the Good Times Be Never Ending", were reminiscent of the pop nature of the band's seventh studio album Wonderland (2001).
[1] The High Llamas frontman Sean O'Hagan contributed orchestration throughout the album, alongside gospel vocal harmonies from Melanie Marshall and Sandra Marvin.
[3] The opening track "Talking in Tones" initially begins as a soundscape of glitch and electronica percussion loops, before shifting into 1960s beat music, with its chorus section being reminiscent of I'm a Man" (1967) by the Spencer Davis Group.
[29] "Let the Good Times Be Never Ending" is a cross between the music of the Doors and the 5th Dimension, with brass parts from Dexys Midnight Runners member Jim Paterson.
[30] The final version was made after six months' worth of attempts, with a variety of additional instrumentation, such as drum machines and Chic-esque guitar playing.
[33] "Lean In" features jangly guitarwork backing vocal harmonies recalled those hard in "Strawberry Wine" (1987) by My Bloody Valentine.
[9] It was the last song written for the album, with Burgess, Collins and Blunt working on the guitar parts of it until the early hours of the morning.
[42][43] The track was released a single on 1 December; the 7" vinyl version included a Brian Jonestown Massacre remix of the same song as the B-side.
[47][48] The physical deluxe edition included a bonus disc which contained "We Sleep on Borrowed Time", "Walk with Me", "As Long as You Stick by Me", and the demo "I Will Never Leave You".
[49] The digital deluxe edition featured "We Sleep on Borrowed Time", "Walk with Me", alongside "Honesty" and "Marauder" as bonus tracks.
[54] In April 2015, they toured across Japan; footage from the trek was later compiled into the music video for "Let the Good Times Be Never Ending", directed by Libby Burke Wilde.
[58] In June and July, the band performed at the Latitude, Isle of Wight, Truck and Glastonbury Festivals, and played at Castlefield Bowl.
[2] AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised the album's "soulful undercurrents," making it sound "more unified than Who We Touch and also contemplative".
[1] The Guardian writer Lanre Bakare said that, "[f]rom the saddest of starting points, the Charlatans have made a joyful eulogy – and possibly the best album of their career.
"[26] Drowned in Sound's Dom Gourlay wrote that the album "fuses elements of the band's past glories with a vision firmly ensconced in the future."
"[69] London Evening Standard critic David Smyth wrote that the record "wears its sorrows lightly .. [with] no sense that the band are tossing out one more album for old time’s sake.
"[67] Writing for Exclaim!, Lisa Sookraj described the album as "a fluid release, a chilled-out, soulful take on the Charlatans' psychedelic sound complemented by muted horns and jazzy keys.
"[29] Clash's Mat Smith found that "much of this album seems to hark back to the 1970s", while in other parts of it, "the addition of dense production," plant the tracks "in an era that only now seems to be appreciated for what it produced.