Thou Announce New Album, ‘Umbilical,’ Due May 31st

Thou has always been a force of raw energy and unapologetic dissent, defying easy categorization 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. Like anyone embroiled in the subculture, Thou has been exploring what it means to exist within and without a rigid morality. That exploration takes thematic center on Umbilical, and their self-assessment is as harsh as the world around them.

Today Thou shares Umbilical’s seething lead single and album centrepiece, “I Feel Nothing When You Cry,” of which the band tells us:

“A throwaway mantra scraped from the necrotic skin of syndicated television. A lugubrious nod to our favorite 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…’”

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 on May 31st 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.

Umbilical Digital & CD Track Listing:

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

Thou ‘Umbilical’ album artwork