Thank share new single and music video for ‘Woke Frasier’
Thank by Summer Crane
Selected press for Thank:
“Mischievous agit-rock philosophers.” - Steve Lamacq, BBC Radio 6 Music
“Bringing noise rock kicking and screaming into the volatile 2020s.” - The Quietus
“A kind of mad melding of Pissed Jeans and Lady Gaga.” - Loud and Quiet
“This Leeds band pairs brawny arrangements with furious, bug-eyed vocals.” - Bandcamp Daily
"Confidently Single Of The Year so far." - Louder Than War
Thank have just released the final teaser from their upcoming second album, I Have A Physical Body That Can Be Harmed, out on November 8th via Big Scary Monsters. Their latest satirical single, ‘Woke Frasier,’ is out today.
As is typical for Thank, ‘Woke Frasier’ delivers sharp, witty social commentary. The track holds up a mirror to the all-too-familiar figures who eagerly label anything they disagree with as ‘woke.’
Side-splitting, tongue-in-cheek lyrics such as: "Bad news, your credit card details are now woke / and you should send them to me for safe disposal" have already evoked some polarising responses while road testing the track as vocalist Freddy Vinehill-Cliffe explains: "Woke Frasier is written from the perspective of a right wing grifter podcast host. When we played this in Bedford someone got mad at me because they thought it was about Joe Rogan, it isn't about Joe Rogan but also fuck Joe Rogan. Woke Simpsons was a close second choice for the name of this song, and it features our friend Robin Smith from Lo Egin on sax."
Facetious songs about unsavoury characters are something of a speciality for the Leeds outfit, as seen on their debut album Thoughtless Cruelty through the lens of "Dread" a song about inattentive landlords and sales pitch letting agents. As Vinehill-Cliffe puts it, "I don’t think I’m necessarily trying to say anything I haven’t tried to say before, I’ve just gotten better at saying it." He continues: "I still hate landlords, I still hate right wing grifters, I still hate people who hide their cruelty behind progressive language. I do hate myself quite a bit less, so there’s some hope and positivity in there too, as a treat.”
To bring their creation to life, the band recorded with Chris Jones and Rob Slater (Blacklisters, Mush) at Beckview Studios in Scarborough. Despite the provocative approach to the lyrics, sonically ‘Woke Frasier’ employs an eerier, more subtle feel to the instrumentation, including Robin Smith on sax and playing with concepts borrowed from classic goth, new-wave and techno.
Freddy Vinehill-Cliffe further elaborates: "Musically this one is primarily a Lewis composition, I think he has set himself the goal of making us sound gradually, subtly like a guitar version of British Murder Boys, almost undetectable until five years from now when I wake up one morning and all our instruments have been replaced by analog hardware. He thinks he’s slick, he thinks I don’t know, but I know."
Thank, along with the release of ‘Woke Frasier’ have also brought in a former collaborator of theirs, George Chadwick for the song's absurdist music video. Speaking on the video the band said: "You can think of this as a sort of sequel to the 'Torture Cube' video, also by George Chadwick. The brief we gave him was to make something centred around right wing podcast grifters, with as many daft references to The Simpsons and Frasier as he felt like including. Also the entire narrative must take place inside a broken desktop computer. I think we can all agree that George has truly delivered this and more. Who can say whether or not Rodney Fipplecash will make further appearances within the Thank cinematic universe? Only time will tell."
Watch the music video below.
"Woke Frasier" music video by George Chadwick
Pre-order I Have A Physical Body That Can Be Harmed here
Fast earning a reputation as "your favourite musician's favourite musician," Thank have gained momentum for their unique concoction of anxious disco grooves, harsh noise freakouts and inscrutable sprechgesang bluster - a legacy continued on I Have A Physical Body That Can Be Harmed.
Earlier this year, Thank signed to the independent record label Big Scary Monsters, quickly following the news of the signing with the release of the well-received ‘Writing Out A List Of All The Names Of God’ and a performance in a packed tent at ArcTanGent Festival, with further shows scheduled in the UK and Europe for the rest of the year.
I Have A Physical Body That Can Be Harmed is a brash, satirical and downright stomping full-length that combines the raw ferocity of the band’s early work with the ambitious arrangements and electronic experimentation of their more recent output. The end result combines hardware techno squelch, jungle-inspired drumming, synth-pop bombast and anarcho-punk spartan aggression, acid-fried and internet-poisoned with a shit-eating grin on its face, landing somewhere akin to The Cure’s ‘The Head On The Door’ if it was remixed by ‘Jenny Death’- era Death Grips.
I Have A Physical Body That Can Be Harmed
Track listing
1. Control
2. Woke Frasier
3. Do It Badly
4. The Spores
5. Down With The Sickness
6. Barely
7. Smiling Politely
8. Dead Dog In A Ditch
9. Perhaps Today
10. Writing Out A List Of All The Names Of God
Thank will also be appearing live at dates across the UK and Europe including London and mainland Europe headline shows and dates with punk veterans Cherubs and Future Of The Left. The full list of dates is below.
Live dates:
16/10 - New Cross Inn - London, UK
17/10 - Les Vieux de la Vieille - Reims, FR
18/10 - Waldmeister - Solingen, DE
19/10 - Magasin 4 - Brussels, BE
04/11 - Yes - Manchester, UK (w/Cherubs)
10/11 - Brudenell Social Club - Leeds UK
17/11 - The Fleece - Bristol UK (w/Future Of The Left)
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