After finally reuniting last year, emo-pop vets Something Corporate are about to begin their first tour in 14 years at NYC’s Brooklyn Steel tonight (6/20), and now they’ve released their first new song in over 20 years. Titled “Death Grip,” it’s co-billed as a song by both Something Corporate and singer Andrew McMahon’s solo band Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, and it finds Andrew & co. in breezy indie pop mode, with his instantly-recognizable voice in fine form. Here’s what Andrew says about it via social media:
This moment has been a gift. For years I have worked to put distance between every record and every band and moniker in the name of progress. I’m a modernist at my core and it’s in my DNA to keep moving forward without looking back. That being said, I wrote Death Grip in a moment when I had not only made peace with my past, but frankly, was feeling joy for how lucky I am that I have been gifted with three careers- three bands and lives that have fueled and marked my existence. Writing this song was an extension of a moment when I was taking stock of my good fortune. A moment when I was choosing to live instead of write. This song came out of nowhere. It was a gift from the universe. It was brought to life first by my friends and cowriters, Ivory Lane and Luke Niccoli and next by my brothers in Something Corporate. To merge these identities of soco and wilderness and not call them the future or the past but instead the moment at hand is a gift I never knew I was seeking but I’m so grateful to receive.
Via press release, he adds:
I honestly didn’t expect to be releasing new music this year. I’ve lived on the write, record, release, tour hamster wheel for a long time and decided after the last album I would do things differently. Giving myself permission to enjoy home, enjoy the reunion shows, and work on other projects has been really good for me. I have historically put so much pressure on myself to keep producing, to keep fighting for my relevance, and I often forget that some of the biggest moments in my career and my life in general have manifested in times when I’ve chosen to take my hands off the wheel a bit and trust that things will be okay. That’s what ‘Death Grip’ is about. Finding a rhythm in life that allows everything to exist at once without forcing things into being.
I was nervous to bring up the idea of collaborating with the Something Corporate guys again on this song, but they were so supportive and excited by the idea of taking what we did together so many years ago and layering it onto this Wilderness process I’ve worked within for the last 10 years. Being back in the studio together, it was like no time had passed and the recording came as easy as the creation of the song had been. There was a lot of laughing, a lot of stories told and memories revisited. From the time this song was written to the time it will be available in people’s speakers, less than three months will have passed. There are plenty of arguments to be made for not rushing work out, but I think fast-tracking this song back into the world is the truest way to honor what inspired its creation in the first place. It’s a song about letting go and having faith that everything will work out, so we’re letting it go. We’ll see what happens next. I also have to shout out the Big Loud Rock team, who I’ve been so impressed with. When I told them I was excited to release music on this insane timeline, they didn’t even blink. When I said I have no idea what comes next but I’m inspired, they said they were excited to take this journey with me.
Check out the song and its Jax Anderson-directed video below.
Tonight’s show at Brooklyn Steel and Friday’s (6/21) show at NYC’s Rooftop at Pier 17 are both with pre-Good Old War band Days Away, for whom this is also a reunion (it’s their first time playing together since 2008). Days Away are also on the Philly show this Saturday, and Something Corporate also play an Asbury Park show on August 23 at Stone Pony Summer Stage with Hidden In Plain View. Since the tour was first announced, the band revealed they’re also playing Riot Fest. All dates are listed below.
Something Corporate’s last album was 2003’s North, and they broke up three years later. A brief reunion followed in 2010, and then they went back on hiatus before reuniting again in 2023. Andrew McMahon also performed Something Corporate’s “I Woke Up In A Car” and Jimmy Eat World’s “The Middle” during Bonnaroo’s Emo SuperJam last week.
Something Corporate — 2024 Tour Dates
Thursday, June 20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel **
Friday, June 21 – New York, NY @ The Rooftop at Pier 17 **
Saturday, June 22 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Met **
Sunday, June 23 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Four Chord Music Festival
Thursday, August 22 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club ++
Friday, August 23 – Asbury Park, NJ @ The Stone Pony Summer Stage ++
Saturday, August 24 – Boston, MA @ Roadrunner ++
Thursday, September 12 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium ^^
Friday, September 13 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle ^^
Saturday, September 14 – Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Live ^^
Thursday, September 19 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues ##
Friday, September 20 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore ##
September 20-22 – Bridgeview, IL @ Riot Fest
Friday, September 27 – Denver, CO @ The Mission Ballroom ~~
Saturday, September 28 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex ~~
Thursday, October 10 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre ~~
Friday, October 11 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium ~~
Saturday, October 12 – San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield ~~
November 9-13 – Miami, FL Holiday From Real Cruise
** Days Away supporting
++ Hidden in Plain View supporting
^^ Kevin Devine supporting
## Allister supporting
~~ Mae supporting