New Jersey post-hardcore icons Thursday have shared their first new music in 13 years, the single Application For Release From The Dream.

Ahead of the songs release, the band took to their social channels, revealing the release is their first in 25 years without a label. 



"Tonight we release our first song in 13 years. It’s also our first release in 25 years WITHOUT a record label. That’s 25 years since we set out in a small white van to play basements and VFW Halls — attics, kitchens and backyards — with a bunch of burned CDRs marked in black Sharpie: “Summer Tour ‘99.”



"In those 25 years, there were so many highway breakdowns, so many emergency rooms, run-ins with the law. So much time laughing in the studio, so many hours huddled together backstage or loading gear in the rain. And yes, 25 years of legal disputes and public blowouts. But now we are free. Free to make our own mistakes. Free to turn this band into whatever we dream it to be, whether we want to make it a collective of rotating members, a small cottage industry, a publishing house, a record label, or just a group of friends still having fun together after all these years."



"So tonight we step on stage at a tiny independent venue like we would’ve played when we were releasing Full Collapse (23 years ago this week) or again when we released No Devolucion (13 years ago this week). The kind of place we hope we get to keep playing at for as long as they’ll have us. Because no matter the size of the stages we’ve played in those 25 years, we remain— at heart — a small band, a bunch of kids still screaming in a basement. But we’re your small band and we love you. Thanks for everything. We’ll see you at midnight, in your time zone. “It’s just a moment now.” "

The song arrives accompanied by an official lyric video which can be viewed below. 

An atmospheric, slow-burning song that builds steadily before exploding into a trademark moment of post-hardcore menace, the track is a melting pot of soundscapes from the bands past, present and apparent future. Speaking to Vulture about the origin of the track, frontman Geoff Rickley shared. 



"In 2019, we started writing and it was really contentious. We were tossing demos back and forth, and nothing was happening. We let them sit for a while. With the last one, everyone was like, “This one has an amazing chorus. How can you not like that?” And I was like, “I just feel like it’s too much the same thing over and over again.” Stu Richardson, who plays bass for us on tour and is an amazing producer, was like, “That’s an easy fix.” Stu slowed down the beginning, took out the drums, and added some keyboards and then I sang a totally different thing over it, and it was like, “Oh! Suddenly I love this song!”

"The funny thing is, I don’t know what will come next from us, but now that the Band-Aid is off, it feels a lot easier to write together. Since we got back together eight years ago, this is the biggest the band’s been. Every night we’re going out and the audience makeup is tilting toward younger fans instead of people that have been with us the whole time."

As for whether the release is indicative of the band having plans to follow it up with an album, Rickley is as poetically non-commital as ever telling journalist Roxana Hadadi that "When it comes to this band — and probably when it comes to me, if I’m being honest — a hard “no” is always a possible “yes.” [Laughs.] That’s just the kind of person that I am. I feel very strongly about things until something changes my mind. Right now the idea is “We did a split, maybe we’ll do a song for a compilation. Maybe we’ll do a cover. Maybe we’ll do a split seven-inch with a young band that we love.” That reminds me of how we started the band: We were playing basement shows, we didn’t want to ever do a record. Then for years we battled to get in and out of contracts with different labels, and I love not having that right now. It’s beautiful."



One of the most revered acts to emerge from the fertile '00s post-hardcore scene, Thursday reformed in 2016 and have recently played a 20th-anniversary tour for their 2003 scene classic War All The Time.

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