THE THE have released ‘Linoleum Smooth To The Stockinged Foot’, the second single from Ensoulment, their long-awaited new studio album out on earMUSIC on Friday, September 6. The song is co-produced by Matt Johnson and Warne Livesey and will be available as a limited 7” vinyl from Friday, August 2.
The lyrics for this song – which touch upon the nascent bio-security state – were written from Matt Johnson’s hospital bed, under the influence of morphine whilst recovering from a life-saving operation. As fate would have it, Johnson’s weeks in hospital had nothing to do with Covid, but occurred at precisely the time Covid reached crisis proportions, making for an even more surreal ordeal.
The discordant interplay between horns and fiddle is redolent of Johnson’s hallucinogenic, surreal experience, which he tried to emulate by asking the musicians to improvise over the track, without hearing the other’s contribution, as he manipulated the sounds in real time.
‘Linoleum Smooth To The Stockinged Foot’ is unique in that it does not feature any of the core band members apart from Johnson on vocals, guitar and bass, plus guest musicians Sonya Cullingford on fiddle, Terry Edwards on horns, Gillian Glover providing backing vocals, and hand claps from percussionist Danny Cummings.
Listen to ‘Linoleum Smooth To The Stockinged Foot’
https://thethe.lnk.to/LinoleumSmoothPR
The new music video for ‘Linoleum Smooth To The Stockinged Foot’ was made in conjunction with long-time collaborators: directed by Tim Pope with editing and VFX by Vicki Bennett (People Like Us) and Peter Knight. Anya Krasnikova was the Director of Photography.
THE THE was formed by Matt Johnson in 1979 and the music inhabits a genre of its own: music of long shadows, high hopes, channelled anger, feverish passions and sweetly disturbing poignancy. It is pop and rock, blues and folk, soul and polemic. It spans alienated electronics to twisted cinematic soundtracks, guitar tumbling swing to crimson ballads, rants and prayers to diaries and hymns.
In over four decades, THE THE have released just five studio albums of original songs – Soul Mining (1983), Infected (1986), Mind Bomb (1989), Dusk (1993) and NakedSelf (2000). But always unpredictable, during this time THE THE have also made diversions into cover albums, such as Hanky Panky; film soundtracks including Hyena, Tony, Muscle and Moonbug; art installations; a podcast series, Radio Cinéola; a beautiful and moving 84-minute documentary, The Inertia Variations; and various book publications, including biography Long Shadows, High Hopes: The Life and Times of Matt Johnson & THE THE.
The album will be available in retail as Ltd. CD Hardcover Mediabook, CD Jewelcase, Black 2LP Gatefold and Ltd. Crystal Clear 2LP Gatefold.
Pre orders available now
https://TheThe.lnk.to/EnsoulmentPR
THE THE also recently announced another world tour, commencing September 2024, the band’s first since their hugely successful The Comeback Special world tour in 2018. Even before the announcement of Ensoulment, the Ensouled world tour has been selling out fast.
ANZ TOUR – NOV 2024
14 November – Auckland, New Zealand SOLD OUT
16 November 2024 – Palais Theatre, Melbourne, Australia SOLD OUT
17 November 2024 – Palais Theatre, Melbourne, Australia
18 November 2024 – Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide, Australia
21 November 2024 – Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia
22 November 2024 –Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia
23 November 2024 – Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane, Australia SOLD OUT
24 November 2024 – Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane, Australia
27 November 2024 – Fremantle Arts Centre, Perth, Australia
Tickets here: www.thethe.com/tour-dates
Tracklisting (CD/2LP):
Side A
Cognitive Dissident
Some Days I Drink My Coffee By The Grave Of William Blake
Zen & The Art Of Dating
Side B
Kissing The Ring Of POTUS
Life After Life
I Want To Wake Up With You
Side C
Down By The Frozen River
Risin’ Above The Need
Linoleum Smooth To The Stockinged Foot
Side D
Where Do We Go When We Die?
I Hope You Remember
(the things I can’t forget)
A Rainy Day In May
