Sometimes artists take breaks between new music releases. It could be a year or two, or, in one case, 12 years. Still, many make a comeback even after a long time, spending that time exploring new genres, instruments, or styles. Sometimes they come back with a new sound, and sometimes they’re just back as they always have been. Here are two bands who have released new music for the first time in years, and one band who we really hope follows suit.
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Bands Releasing New Music for the First Time in Years
Rise Against
Rise Against just released a new single, “Nod,” and announced their 2025 Rise of the Roach Tour. This is their first new song since Nowhere Generation from 2021. They’ve announced more than 50 dates on this new tour, which will take them all around the U.K., Europe, and the U.S. As for the new single, vocalist and lyricist Tim McIlrath said in a press release that “Nod” is “about the solace we find in community,” adding, “It’s about the comfort in knowing that we are not alone. This comfort can temper our anger and our frustration, at least temporarily.”
Spin Doctors
Last week, the Spin Doctors released their first new music in 12 years and announced their forthcoming album, Face Full of Cake. The album is slated for April 11. The single, “Still a Gorilla,” finds the Spin Doctors exploring a heavier sound than usual, but with their trademark sense of humor intact. “‘Still A Gorilla’ is a heavy-duty track about what it is to be human,” said vocalist Chris Barron in a press release. Barron admitted that he and drummer Aaron Comess had the music for “Still a Gorilla” for years, but always failed when it came to lyrics. According to the release, the single’s vibe was then inspired by Robyn’s 2005 song “Konichiwa Bitches.”
As Barron recalled, “Aaron was like, ‘A vibe like [“Konichiwa Bitches”] would be cool,’ and the humor of that song gave me the entree into the song, so I just sat down and wrote that in an hour.”
Heart
The status of new music from Heart is less clear-cut, but the band is embarking on their Royal Flush Tour once again. They had to cancel most of their 2024 tour after Ann Wilson was diagnosed with cancer and underwent treatment. However, last year Nancy Wilson revealed that they’re most likely going to be working on an acoustic album. If this comes to fruition, it would mark their first new album since Beautiful Broken from 2016.
“We’re actually in talks about an acoustic album, while we’re waiting to go back out on the tour, which I think it’d be just a perfect use of our time,” Wilson told Ultimate Classic Rock last August. “Because me and the band guys could put these acoustic Heart songs together in ways that are kind of an unexpected way of doing [and] hearing Heart songs, fresh again.”
It’s unclear if that acoustic album is still in the works now that Ann Wilson has completed her cancer treatment and is on the road with the band again. Still, it would be great to hear Heart songs in a new style like Nancy Wilson said. Here’s hoping that acoustic album hasn’t been shelved just yet.
Featured Image by Barry Brecheisen/WireImage
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