Godsticks have shared the first single from their long-awaited seventh studio album VOiD. The new track, titled “M.I.A.,” is the first glimpse into Godsticks’ darkest, heaviest, and most uncompromising album to date. With the single comes a new video produced by Martin Holmes.
Speaking about the new single, frontman and songwriter Darran Charles said: “Although I’ve no experience in the field of psychology, I’ve always been fascinated (and indeed tortured) by that voice in your head that goes under various guises such as ‘inner critic’ or ‘inner monologue’.
“Mine is a mouthy bastard that has an opinion on practically everything and never fails to offer it -incessantly. No amount of internal vitriol directed at it seems to quieten its destructively negative offerings. It never sleeps either – I could wake up at 4 am to use the bathroom and to my surprise and determent, it reminds me that it’s been up all night searching through the archives to remind me of some embarrassment I felt 25 years ago.”
“I always like to imagine this voice manifested in physical form, so when it tells me that it thinks I’m a terrible musician, or that I’m conceited, or that I’ve wasted my life away, or lists all the wrong decisions I’ve made over my life, then I could beat the living shit out of it. MIA is a song about that. And I think this same voice was responsible for writing the guitar and drum parts, because they were torturous too, and made us all question our ability as musicians at one point or another. We won in the end, though, so fuck you, me!”
Both lyrically and musically, VOiD reflects a disillusionment with a world increasingly defined by division, ideological rigidity, and the loss of nuance. The album documents a conscious withdrawal from the noise – a retreat into a personal void.
Drummer Tom Price and guitarist Gavin Bushell continue to play a vital role in the writing process, while the introduction of new bassist Francis George brings a subtle but important shift in the overall feel to the rhythm section.
“I cannot overstate the enormously positive impact Tom and Gavin have had on the writing process over the last few albums. Whilst the writing methods have rarely changed for me over the years, what has changed is that their contributions are indispensable and something I genuinely look forward to incorporating. I’ve lost count of the times on this album that they’ve provided or reinterpreted a part that has prevented the song from being binned because it wasn’t working. This is also the first time in 12 years that we’re working with a different bass player, too (Francis George), and that itself has offered a fresh perspective on arrangements and influenced the overall feel to the rhythm section. It’s a little different this time around.” – Darran Charles
