Thou have set to release their new studio album “Umbilical” on May 31st, 2024, via Sacred Bones Records.
“They’ve called us anarchists, criminals, foreign meddlers, lunatics, dispossessed, relativists, utilitarians, egoists, passion maximizers, ascetics, negators of everything. Clearly, the ‘Thou’ experiment is never going to appeal to audiences who demand that art rigorously enforce a coherent and righteous worldview.
And yet, are we not ourselves constrained by our own rigid morality? In those quiet moments of deep contemplation, when the bargains and concessions are thoroughly examined, when we yield before the Judging Eye – what is the summation of our choices? If the unspoiled self beyond the immensity of time were given voice, what pronouncements would be made? What would such an internal audit yield? What undeniable character would be revealed?
This record is for the radicals, the crackpots, the exiles who have escaped the wasteland of capitulation. This record is for the militants and zealots refusing to surrender to comforts, to practicalities, to thirty pieces of silver. And this record is most especially for the weaklings and malingerers, burdened by capricious indulgence, hunched by the deep wounds of compromise, shuffling in limp approximation, desperately reaching back towards integrity and conviction”, says Thou.
Thou has always been a force of raw energy and unapologetic dissent, defying easy categorisation and challenging listeners to confront the complexities of existence. Their forthcoming album, “Umbilical”, is their firmest nod to the raw intensity of obscure ‘90s DIY hardcore punk. It’s a record filled with mosh-ready riffs, heavy breakdowns and scathing vocals. The band’s aesthetic and political impulses have always been punk and like anyone embroiled in the subculture Thou have been exploring what it means to exist within and without a rigid morality. That exploration takes thematic centre on Umbilical and their self-assessment is as harsh as that of the world around them.
Today Thou share their seething lead single and album centrepiece, “I Feel Nothing When You Cry” of which the band tell is “A throwaway mantra scraped from the necrotic skin of syndicated television. A lugubrious nod to our favourite commode-crooning diva, one of her most diabolically terse lines. With the sweet, sultry whispers of a legendary New Orleans faerie. This might be as close as we’ll get to a positive, youth crew anthem. ‘This song has nothing original or of value. It’s a steady beat for dancing feet. You got what you wanted, now say the words…’”
Listen to the new single “I Feel Nothing When You Cry” below.
“Umbilical” is Thou’s first full-length release of original music since their 2018 Sacred Bones debut “Magus”, and 2020 collaborative split with Emma Ruth Rundle, “May Our Chambers By Full”.
“Umbilical” will be released across all digital platforms and available in stores May 31st, 2024, via Sacred Bones.
All vinyl editions come with a black 7″ featuring the tracks “I Feel Nothing When You Cry” and “Unbidden Guest”, which are also available on CD and digital products.
Pre-order & pre-save “Umbilical” here.
Digital & CD Tracklist:
1. Narcissist’s Prayer
2. Emotional Terrorist
3. Lonely Vigil
4. House of Ideas
5. I Feel Nothing When You Cry
6. Unbidden Guest
7. I Return as Chained and Bound to You
8. The Promise
9. Panic Stricken, I Flee
10. Siege Perilous
LP Tracklist:
LP Side A:
1. Narcissist’s Prayer
2. Emotional Terrorist
3. Lonely Vigil
4. House of Ideas
LP Side B:
5. I Return as Chained and Bound to You
6. The Promise
7. Panic Stricken, I Flee
8. Siege Perilous
7″ Tracks:
1. I Feel Nothing When You Cry
2. Unbidden Guest
Live Dates 2024:
Apr 13: New Orleans, LA – Palestine Benefit at Fred Hampton Free Store
May 04: Providence, RI – AS220
Jul 28: New Orleans, LA – The Broadside**
Sep 13-15: Richmond, VA – Persistent Vision Fest
Aug 14: The Zoo – Brisbane, AU *
Aug 15: Mary’s Underground – Sydney, AU *
Aug 16: The Baso – Canberra, AU *
Aug 17: Stay Gold – Melbourne, AU *
Aug 18: Crown & Anchor – Adelaide, AU *
Aug 23: Rolling Stone – Christchurch, NZ *
Aug 24: Meow – Wellington, NZ *
Aug 25: Galatos – Auckland, NZ *
* (w/ Full of Hell)
** (w/ The Body + Dis Fig and Nail Club)
Weblinks:
noladiy.org/thou
www.instagram.com/thou_band
