The The share ‘Cognitive Dissident’ and announce first album in 25 years, ‘Ensoulment’

The The have announced details of ‘Ensoulment’ – their first album in 25 years. Check out the full tracklist below, as well as the new single ‘Cognitive Dissident’.

Announced today (May 17), the album marks the first new song from the post-punk band since ‘NakedSelf’, which was shared back in 2000.

“Nothing to hide – nothing to fear/ No one to censor – no one to smear/ The revolution’s been authorised/ The future? Privatised,” the frontman sings ahead of the looming riffs and gritty bass lines. Check it out below.

Set for release on September 6 via Cinéola and earMUSIC, ‘Ensolument’ was written, demoed and mixed by the group’s main creative force, Matt Johnson in London, before the tracks were further refined by the other members.

While it comes as the first official album from The The since 2000, in the years since the band have shared four soundtrack albums for films, including Tony and Hyena.

According to the band, the essence of the new album captures the same charm that first put The The on the map, but also sees the members create something that is the perfect representation of their 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,” reads a press release for the LP.

As well as the signature emotive lyrics, the album is also set to see The The embrace and explore topics around love, war, politics and what it means to be human in today’s society.

It features previously unpublished works of Matt Johnson’s late brother Andrew (AKA artist Andy Dog) on the cover, and is available to pre-order here.

“It’s vital to be hopeful,” Johnson said. “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!” Find the full tracklist below.

The track listing of Ensoulment is:

1.   ‘Cognitive Dissident’
2.   ‘Some Days I Drink My Coffee By The Grave Of William Blake’
3.   ‘Zen & The Art Of Dating’
4.   ‘Kissing The Ring Of POTUS’
5.   ‘Life After Life’
6.   ‘I Want To Wake Up With You’
7.   ‘Down By The Frozen River’
8.   ‘Risin’ Above The Need’
9.   ‘Linoleum Smooth To The Stockinged Foot’
10. ‘Where Do We Go When We Die?’
11. ‘I Hope You Remember (the things I can’t forget)’
12. ‘A Rainy Day In May’

Today also sees the post-punk heavyweights announce details of an upcoming tour across North America, as well as another show in London.

For the latter, the date comes as an extension of the band’s four-date run of shows in the UK. Instead of ending with the previously announced date in Manchester on September 30, the tour will now draw to an end with a final slot at the Brixton Academy in London on October 31.

The newly-shared North American dates will kick off later that month, and include slots in Atlanta, Philadelphia, New York, Seattle, Chicago and more. It’ll end with a show at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on November 8.

Tickets go on sale at 10am local time next Friday (May 24) for US dates and on Monday (May 20) for the London show. Visit here for US tickets, here for UK tickets, and find a full list of shows below.

The The’s 2024 tour dates are:

September
25 – Usher Hall, Edinburgh
27 – The Civic at The Halls, Wolverhampton
28 – Alexandra Palace, London
30 – The Apollo, Manchester  

OCTOBER
1 Oct – Brixton Academy, London [NEW]
11 – Tabernacle – Atlanta, GA
12 – Durham Performing Arts – Durham, NC
14 – The Anthem – Washington, DC
15 – The Fillmore – Philadelphia, PA
17 – Beacon Theatre – New York, NY
19 – Orpheum Theatre – Boston, MA
20 – MTELUS – Montreal, QC
22 – Massey Hall – Toronto, ON
23 – Masonic Cathedral Theatre – Detroit, MI
25 – The Salt Shed – Chicago, IL
26 – Palace Theatre – St. Paul, MN
29 – Mission Ballroom – Denver, CO
30 – Eccles Theater – Salt Lake City, UT

NOVEMBER
2 – Paramount Theatre – Seattle, WA
3 – Roseland Theater – Portland, OR
4 – Orpheum Theatre – Vancouver, BC
7 – Fox Theater – Oakland, CA
8 – Shrine Auditorium – Los Angeles, CA

The UK live shows are the band’s first since their hugely successful ‘The Comeback Special’ world tour in 2018. Those marked the first time Johnson and co. had played live in 16 years, and included London shows at The Royal Albert Hall, Brixton Academy and The Troxy venues.

These were then followed by a world tour encompassing venues in Europe, North America and Australia.

Back in 2021, The The announced a new multi-format project called ‘The Comeback Special’, which documented their Royal Albert Hall concert from 2018, and was accompanied by a live album, film and book.