WYWA: New Music From The Twilight Sad And Puscifer, Plus The Damned’s New LP, And More
Well, Halloween is over. Time to pack up the pumpkins, put away the skeletons, and avoid any early mentions of Christmas. As you’re recovering from your Halloween hangover, check out this week’s edition of While You Were Away and catch up with The Twilight Sad, Alkaline Trio, Puscifer, and more.
The Twilight Sad team up with The Cure’s Robert Smith on ‘WAITING FOR THE PHONE CALL’
Scottish rockers The Twilight Sad have shared their new single “WAITING FOR THE PHONE CALL” featuring longtime supporter, The Cure‘s Robert Smith, on guitar. Stream the song below.
“‘WAITING FOR THE PHONE CALL’ is about grief, love, and mental illness,” Graham explained in a statement. “I lost the person most important to me in one of the cruellest ways. I’ve always used writing as a method of processing and coping with my emotions. My emotions became a problem and I couldn’t control them.”
He continued, “Writing music with Andy… especially the past seven years had been both the escape and the opportunity to process and try and make sense of life. We’ve all been waiting on a phone call that can change our lives at some point. This unfortunately focuses on a phone call that you never want to have.”
The Twilight Sad have also announced a headline 2026 UK/European tour. See all their dates here.
Puscifer unleash new single ‘Pendulum’
To celebrate Halloween (October 31st), Puscifer have released their new single “Pendulum” from their upcoming album, Normal Isn’t.
The Goth-tinged track’s accompanying video introduces a new character in the Pusciverse, Bellendia Black, played by frontman Maynard James Keenan. The clip shows Keenan awkwardly interviewing Bellendia before introducing the song.
“The dramatic and romantic nature of this track induces a sonic sense memory that transports me back to the dark and moody dance floor of Club Iguana, Austin, TX, circa 1985,” Keenan stated in a press release. “I can almost smell the clove cigarettes.”
Watch the video below.
Normal Isn’t comes out on February 6th. Pre-order it here.
Alkaline Trio share new single ‘Surprise Surprise’
Alkaline Trio have shared their poignant new single “Surprise Surprise.”
The track, produced by blink-182‘s Travis Barker, is about taking a bad situation and changing it for the better. Frontman Matt Skiba reveals the song was “inspired by and written for a friend of mine who grew up poor and entrenched in gang life, only to become a Navy SEAL and eventually an astronaut. It’s his story, combined with my own thoughts regarding how a sort of alchemy takes place when someone takes the experiences of a bad situation and is able to turn them into something profound and beautiful.
“The rough sketch of the song had only verse and chorus parts but no bridge which was written by Dan [Andriano] in the studio. This song was the last one of the three we did in this session with Travis Barker and was even more of a collaboration and studio creation than the previous two.”
Listen to the song below.
The Damned announce covers album in tribute to guitarist Brian James
The Damned have announced a covers album paying tribute to late founding guitarist Brian James, Not Like Everybody Else, out on January 23rd. The lead single, “There’s a Ghost In My House” by R. Dean Taylor, comes out on Thursday (November 6).
Other songs covered for the album include The Kinks with the titular “I’m Not Like Everybody Else,” The Rolling Stones (“The Last Time”), Pink Floyd (“See Emily Play”), The Creation (“Making Time”), and The Animals (“When I Was Young”).
Pre-save the album here.
The Damned are also featured on another covers album, Killed By Deaf – A Punk Tribute to Motorhead, which came out today.
Artwork:
Tracklist:
01. There’s A Ghost In My House (R. Dean Taylor)
02. Summer In The City (Joe Cocker)
03. Making Time (The Creation)
04. Gimme Danger (Iggy & The Stooges)
05. See Emily Play (Pink Floyd)
06. I’m Not Like Everybody Else (The Kinks)
07. Heart Full Of Soul (The Yardbirds)
08. You Must Be A Witch (The Lollipop Shoppe)
09. When I Was Young (The Animals)
10. The Last Time (The Rolling Stones)
Tours on sale this week
New wave icon Gary Numan will embark on a spring North American tour next year. The tour starts on March 7th in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and runs through April 11th in San Luis Obispo, California. Tickets are on sale now.
In support of their new album Tomorrow We Escape, Ho99o9 will tour Europe and the UK next year. The “Tomorrow We Escape” tour kicks off February 3rd in Dublin and wraps up March 1st in Lille. See all the dates here.
A Perfect Circle will embark on their first UK/European tour in seven years. The trek starts with a two-night stint at London’s O2 Academy Brixton on June 3rd and 4th and runs through July 4th in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg. Get all the details here.
Bad Omens have announced a winter 2026 North American tour with President and Beartooth. The tour launches February 22nd in Salt Lake City, Utah, and concludes March 27th with a show in Oakland, California. Tickets are on sale now.
