THE THE have today digitally released ‘Linoleum Smooth To The Stockinged Foot’ (and accompanying music video), the 2nd single from Ensoulment, their long-awaited new studio album out on Cinéola / earMUSIC on Friday 6th September 2024. The song is co-produced by Matt Johnson and Warne Livesey. This 2nd single is available as a limited 7” vinyl on Friday 2nd August.
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 except Johnson on vocals, guitar, and bass. It also features guest musicians Sonya Cullingford on fiddle, Terry Edwards on horns, Gillian Glover providing backing vocals, and hand claps from percussionist Danny Cummings.
The new music video for ‘Linoleum Smooth To The Stockinged Foot’ was made in conjunction with long-time collaborators. Tim Pope directed it, and Vicki Bennett (People Like Us) and Peter Knight edited and created the VFX. Anya Krasnikova was the Director of Photography.
THE THE and Tim Pope have a long, shared history working on a variety of videos and projects, including the film of 2018 The Comeback Special concert at Royal Albert Hall (which featured as part of the multi-media box-set of the same name in 2021), the legendary Infected The Movie in 1987 – the first-ever long-form video album release – the Versus The World film of the concert at Royal Albert Hall in 1990, and From Dusk ‘Til Dawn in 1993, as well as many music videos over the years including ‘Pillar Box Red’, ‘The Beat(en) Generation’, ‘Kingdom of Rain’, ‘Gravitate To Me’ and the most recent music video for ‘Cognitive Dissident’, the 1st single from Ensoulment.
Vicki Bennett (People Like Us), acclaimed video collage artist, and Peter Knight (photographer) have also long been associated with THE THE, having created the videos for ‘We Can’t Stop What’s Coming’ and the ‘Stolen Moments’ remix of ‘GlobalEyes’ by DJ Food. They also created the kaleidoscopic, cinematic backdrop for The Comeback Special’s world tour.
Additionally, the single cover features a previously unpublished work of Matt Johnson’s late brother Andrew (AKA artist Andy Dog), who, over the years, was very much responsible for the distinctive aesthetic style of THE THE’s releases.
Watch the music video for ‘Linoleum Smooth To The Stockinged Foot’ BELOW:
The 3rd single from Ensoulment, ‘Some Days I Drink My Coffee By The Grave of William Blake’, will be released digitally on 29th August and available on vinyl the following day.
Ensoulment itself contains echoes of THE THE’s multifaceted musical past, however it is richly representative of the mercurial band’s here and now. Johnson is characteristically unafraid to tackle the emotional complexity inherent in the human condition – intimacy in an age of alienation; democracy in a post-truth age; empire and vassalage; and the inexorable rise of AI – yet the album is equally shot through with hope.
“It’s vital to be hopeful,” Johnson states. “And I hope people get out of the album what we put into it. It was created under very happy circumstances, with a great vibe amongst the band and all the people that worked on it. There was a lot of thought, a lot of work, a lot of love, a lot of laughter!”
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 Ensoulled world tour had been selling out fast. The initial UK run, which includes a show at London’s historic Alexandra Palace, is now sold out, and a second London show at Brixton Academy has been added.
25 Sept – Usher Hall, Edinburgh – SOLD OUT
27 Sept – The Civic at The Halls, Wolverhampton – SOLD OUT
28 Sept – Alexandra Palace, London – SOLD OUT
30 Sept – The Apollo, Manchester – SOLD OUT
1 Oct – Brixton Academy – London
Ensouled world tour venues and ticket links to date (including Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) found HERE.
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