The Drums are announcing ‘Jonny (Deluxe)’, an expanded version of last fall’s intensely intimate and critically acclaimed new album that now includes twenty-one songs. Get a peek at the additional music by listening to new song ‘The Impossible’ below…
“I wrote ‘The Impossible’ very quickly, over the course of a few hours, music and all; it wanted to be here with me,” lead singer and songwriter Jonny Pierce explained. “It’s a curious time for me to write a song about emotional devastation and unfulfilled promises, as I am currently reveling in a romance that feels fulfilling and meaningful and full of integrity. It is as if the more peaceful and nested I am, the more worried that part of me becomes. I can only assume that the survivors-brain I forged in childhood wrote this song with me. It seems to be working overtime trying to protect me from emotional shipwreck in the future. Wouldn’t it be lovely just to enjoy love while it’s here!?”
Soaring to alt-pop prestige nearly fifteen years ago with a renowned self-titled debut, The Drums continue to thrive, influence and reinvent with every project. Pierce initially conceived of the band back in 2008 and what resulted was worldwide acclaim and a string of five studio albums that deftly walk the line of aching melancholy and irresistible pop sensibilities, presented through a kaleidoscope of pastel guitars, reverb, modular synthesizers and drum machines. It’s a sound that’s wholly unique, and unmistakably The Drums.
On the album’s breakout track ‘I Want It All’, Jonny desperately looks for a way to escape the isolation he experienced in childhood and as a young adult. Soul-searching ruminations, confrontations of childhood trauma and epiphanies of self-acceptance are entangled within the song; listen to it HERE.
“It is only in the past few years that I have really begun to understand what happened to me as a boy, which has helped me start to build my own bridge towards real love,” Pierce explained. “The song is a declaration – that I will take what I was never given. I want the full experience of being human, which includes love and connection. I want it all.”
Also on the record is ‘Dying’, a song featuring rapper Rico Nasty that was shared just prior to the album’s release. The track is accompanied by a music video simulating Jonny’s funeral and features his own genuine fans filling the pews alongside Rico. Watch it HERE.
Praise for ‘Jonny’:
“Gorgeously winsome indie-pop” – PAPER
“You’ve heard The Drums, but never quite like this before … in the midst of learning to reconcile the many shattered, mismatched pieces at war inside of himself, Pierce looked within, and the music poured out.” – Alternative Press
“Plucky, slightly upbeat guitar work shows that while Pierce is not fully past his issues, he continues to cope and often returns to the solitude from which he came.” – Billboard
“Not only surprises but miracles can happen when a person truly devotes themselves to self-improvement. Whereas past Drums releases showcased Pierce’s strength and breadth as a musical talent, Jonny is arguably even more vital: It makes a persuasive case for the triumph of the human spirit.” – FLOOD Magazine
“The album exemplifies many of the Drums’ songwriting trademarks: relentlessly catchy pop melodies paired with dark lyrics; jangly guitars and ethereal synths; Pierce’s plaintive, occasionally haunting vocals. But the album also represents a sonic evolution, featuring a handful of sparsely arranged missives to Pierce’s younger self, and the band’s first guest verse from none other than Rico Nasty.” – THEM.
“Pierce’s depictions of raw, strange intimacy have long distinguished the band’s music, and Jonny’s core scrutiny of trauma and its aftermath plays to his strengths.” – Pitchfork
