WYWA: New Music From Ghost And Garbage, Plus My Chemical Romance, And More
Do you ever wake up on Monday and think we should imprison whoever came up with the idea that the weekend should only be two days? Hopefully, this week’s edition of While You Were Away will ease you into the day. This time we’re talking about My Chemical Romance, Garbage, Ghost, and more.
Garbage release new song ‘There’s No Future In Optimism’
Garbage have shared their new single “There’s No Future In Optimism” taken from their upcoming album, Let All That We Imagine Be the Light.
“I love the title,” frontwoman Shirley Manson said about the song. “But the lyrics are an action against that title. Because if we allow our fatalism or our negativity to really take over, we will crumble. It’s about a city, in my case, Los Angeles, but it could be anywhere where bad stuff is happening.
“After the George Floyd murder, which is one of few things in my life that I wish I’d never seen: I was changed entirely by seeing the footage of that cop kneeling on George Floyd’s neck. In Los Angeles there were huge protests and a lot of upheaval after that. Above our house in Hollywood, there were helicopters all day long, for days on end. It was precarious, chaotic and terrifying.”
Watch the video, directed by Benjy Kirkman, below. Pre-order Let All That We Imagine Be the Light here.
Ghost unveil new single ‘Lachryma’
Ghost have shared their new single and video, “Lachryma.” The video, directed by Amir Chamdin, features the first full performance from new frontman Papa V Perpetua. The song comes from their upcoming album, Skeletá.
“It opens with more of a riffage,” frontman Tobias Forge tells Metal Hammer of the song. “And I guess now comes off as somewhat of a ‘typical’ Ghost mash-up, where it’s heavy on one end and met with a big, bombastic chorus. That’s a song about self-deceit.”
Watch the video below. Skeletá comes out April 25th via Loma Vista Recordings. Pre-order it here.
My Chemical Romance announce ‘Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge’ deluxe edition
My Chemical Romance have announced a deluxe edition of their landmark album Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, due out on June 6th, just in time for its 21st anniversary.
The remixed and remastered edition includes four bonus tracks recorded for BBC Radio 1 in 2005. Three of the live tracks – I’m Not Okay (I Promise),” “Helena,” and “The Ghost of You” – are previously unreleased. As a preview, the band have shared “I’m Not OK (I Promise) [Live for BBC Radio 1’s “The Lock Up”, 2005].” Listen to it below.
Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (Deluxe Edition) will be available on multiple formats, including digital, CD, and various vinyl variants. Find pre-orders here.
Pulp announce first new album in nearly 24 years
Pulp is back! The Britpop band have announced their new album, More, marking their first new record in nearly 24 years. Hear the first single “Spike Island” below.
In a press release, frontman Jarvis Cocker reveals the album started coming together when Pulp was touring in 2023. “We practiced a new song called ‘Hymn of the North’ during soundchecks & eventually played it at the end of our second night at Sheffield Arena. This seemed to open the floodgates: we came up with the rest of the songs on this album during the first half of 2024. A couple are revivals of ideas from last century. The music for one song was written by Richard Hawley. The music for another was written by Jason Buckle. The Eno family sing backing vocals on a song. There are string arrangements written by Richard Jones & played by the Elysian Collective.”
“The album was recorded over three weeks by James Ford in Walthamstow, London, starting on November 18th, 2024. This is the shortest amount of time a Pulp album has ever taken to record. It was obviously ready to happen,” Cocker added. “We hope you enjoy the music. It was written & performed by four human beings from the North of England, aided & abetted by five other human beings from various locations in the British Isles. No A.I. was involved during the process.”
More is dedicated to former bassist Steve Mackey, who passed away in 2023. The album arrives on June 6th via Rough Trade Records. Pre-order it here.
Tours on sale this week
Breaking Benjamin and Three Days Grace will head out on a summer/fall co-headlining tour with Return to Dust. The trek starts August 29th in Ridgedale, Missouri, and wraps up on October 12th in Durant, Oklahoma. Find all the dates here.
blink-182 have announced the “Missionary Impossible” tour with Alkaline Trio as support. The U.S. outing kicks off August 28th in Hollywood, Florida and runs through October 4th in Palm Desert, California. Tickets are on sale now.
Hot Water Music have announced their 2025 North American tour set to take place this summer. The tour launches July 22nd in Hartford, Connecticut, and concludes July 29th in Carrboro, North Carolina. See all the dates here.
LCD Soundsystem have expanded their 2025 tour with an additional 13 shows. The new leg kicks off on August 7th in Seattle, Washington, and wraps up with a two-night stint in Toronto on August 22nd and 23rd. TV on the Radio will join as support on select dates. General sales start Friday, April 18th at 10 AM local time. Get the details here.
