The Drums Confront Religious Trauma on New Album 'Jonny'

The new single "Better" is out now

BY Alex HudsonPublished Jul 12, 2023

The Drums have announced a new album. Jonny will be out October 13 via ANTI- Records, and the single "Better" is out today.

Jonny, which is named after projected leader Jonny Pierce, includes the previously released singles "Obvious," "I Want It All," "Plastic Envelope" and "Protect Him Always." The album is a response to the childhood trauma Pierce experienced growing up in a cult-like religious community; the artwork comes from a series of naked self-portraits Pierce took a decade ago in his family home, specifically in places where something significant had taken place.

"When I finished Jonny, I listened to it, and I heard my soul reflected back at me," said Pierce in a statement. "It is devastating and triumphant, it is lost and found, it is confused and certain, it is wise and foolish. It is male and female, it is hard and gentle. To encapsulate one's whole self in an album, to honour each and every part of you — even the parts that feel at odds with each other, is to make something deeply human, and because my religion is humanism, the album becomes a sacred place for me to worship. Each feeling a different pew, each song a hymn to the human heart."

There are 16 songs in all. Scroll past the yearning post-post tune "Better" to see the tracklist, and pre-order Jonny here.

The Drums will be touring North America this fall. The previously announced dates, including Canadian stops in Toronto and Vancouver, can be found here.


Jonny:

1. I Want It All
2. Isolette
3. I'm Still Scared
4. Better
5. Harms
6. Little Jonny
7. Plastic Envelope
8. Protect Him Always
9. Be Gentle
10. Dying
11. Green Grass
12. Obvious
13. The Flowers
14. Teach My Body
15. Pool God
16. I Used to Want to Die

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