The new single combines a punchy bass-heavy track with raw, unpolished vocals. The middle section (with inspiration credited to the innovative English composer Michael Nyman) utilises the sharp stabs of strings over the guttural saw-toothed bass for a grand departure into the emphatic finale.

The band was formed in early 2021 following the release of Moffatt’s’ latest album As Days Get Dark with his band Arab Strap. With a career spanning nearly 30 years and numerous accolades, Moffatt was quoted saying; “After a big album with a lot of words in it, I get sick of my own voice, so I tend to retreat a little bit and do instrumental stuff. It was pure serendipity that James was looking to do something that way.”

The lyrical content is owed largely to the distinct input of The Twilight Sad singer James Graham, channelling the fear and frustration he experienced during the pandemic, delving into themes of isolation and despair, anger and confusion. Graham stated; “I think if the record makes you feel uneasy, that’s job done! I was feeling uncertainty to do with my job, my family, my life, everything was uncertain and anxious. For the music to replicate that, that’s a good sign.”

However, the current singles available from the band are far from gloomy. The instrumental aspects written by Moffatt are decidedly forceful and uplifting. Graham added; “What I’ve always loved about Motown records was that you can dance to them, they’re really joyous, but the lyrics are always about heartbreak. Maybe that’s the kind of thing that’s going on here, they’re kinda fighting each other, but in an enjoyable way. It’s not a joyless record to listen to!”

The album These Actions Cannot be Undone, is due to drop on the 13^th of May 2022 available for pre-order now on vinyl, CD and digital download. Take a peek at the tracklist below;

1.“Waiting For Nothing”
2. “Killing This Time”
3. “Let Them Rot” ft. AKG
4. “The Cries”
5. “Date & Sign”
6. “Rent Free”
7. “Shores Of Anhedonia”
8. “Face To Fire (After Nyman)”
9. “Don’t Say Goodnight”
10. “Landfill”

Twilight Sad can be seen supporting The Cure on their upcoming UK shows for 2022. Arab Strap will also have dates set to perform in the UK and Europe later this year.

The public have been able to vote for the songs they want to hear on the record; which will be performed by the original artists and their road crew. The latest tranche of tracks was unveiled on the Whole Lotta Roadies social media channels today.

The final track listing for the album has yet to be determined, but confirmed numbers include:

• Edinburgh acoustic folk-rocker KT Tunstall performing her 2005 hit single Black Horse and the Cherry Tree;
• Glaswegians Twin Atlantic performing Heart and Soul, which topped the official UK Rock chart in 2014;
• Honeyblood (aka Stina Tweeddale) performing 2014 single Biro;
• Belle and Sebastian and their crew performing their 2004 hit I’m A Cuckoo;
• Edinburgh punk veterans The Rezillos performing Top Of The Pops, a top 20 hit in 1978;
• Aberdeen alt-rockers The XCerts performing Shaking In The Water, the lead single from their 2014 album There Is Only You;

Further tracks are set to be unveiled later this week, with numbers from from Leith icons the The Proclaimers; indie rockers Idlewild; space rock merchants Mogwai; Falkirk outifit Arab Strap; Kilmarnock’s Fatherson; former Delgados singer-songwriter Emma Pollock and Inverness musician Kathryn Joseph all set to feature. On Monday the Whole Lotta Roadies Twitter account promised that “each tune is a nailed on beauty.”

The new LP has been put together by The Fruit Tree Foundation, a project originally formed in 2010 by Emma Pollock and Idlewild guitarist Rod Jones to create the multi-artist compilation album First Edition based around the themes of mental health and wellbeing. Jones told NME that the ongoing pandemic had given the organisation a new sense of purpose.

He said “The devastating impact Covid-19 has had on the music industry is well documented and few are far more affected than live crew. On speaking to members of our touring crew I realised how they were falling through the cracks in government funding and with no gigs and tours upcoming the outlook for them was bleak. I wanted to try and find a way to support them and the wider Scottish Live Crew industry.”

Jones added “Knowing how many crew members are also very talented musicians in their own right I thought it would be fitting for them to showcase this by covering songs of the bands they have been working with over the years, and releasing an album of this to create a hardship fund and also awareness of their situation.”