Hot Mulligan released their best album yet with 2023’s Why Would I Watch and they’ve been bigger than ever since. They kept the momentum going with a few standalone singles last year, and now they’ve announced their next album, The Sound A Body Makes When It’s Still, due August 22 via Wax Bodega. In classic Hot Mulligan fashion, there are some ridiculous song titles (perhaps none more ridiculous than “Monica Lewinskibidi”), and there’s a collaboration with Free Throw‘s Cory Castro called “Island in the Sun” which I’m guessing is not fact a Weezer cover, but who knows. The first single is “And A Big Load” and that one is out now.
Hot Mulligan’s silly song titles have always been offset by dead-serious music, and “And A Big Load” is no exception. It picks up where Why Would I Watch left off, toeing the line between gritty, soul-baring emo and super catchy pop punk to great effect. It comes with a Michael Herrick-directed video that finds the band performing at a skate park, and you can check that out below.
Of the song, guitarist/co-vocalist Chris Freeman says, “It’s the consequences of your own actions. You could face them; you could avoid them entirely. Our biggest conflicts and struggles are often self inflicted. Drink too much? Hangover. What did you say last night? Apologize… or don’t. You could commit suicide instead. You could commit to being sober. You could commit to drinking one million beers. At the end of the day it’ll all be left for you to deal with. It’s terrifying.”
About the album title, which comes from a lyric on the album, vocalist Tade Sanville says, “That lyric is in a song about paranoia, which is fear. With the album title, you can go the meditation route, or, the horror that you are in your body, and you have to exist. You have no choice, really. Even if you plan on killing yourself, right now you exist. And that is a terrifying thing.”
Hot Mulligan are playing some small shows this week and next, including a sold-out show at Brooklyn’s Elsewhere Rooftop on Wednesday (6/4) with Oso Oso and Wakelee, surrounding their appearance at Bonnaroo. Their dates also include Philly with Prince Daddy & the Hyena and Carly Cosgrove; Iowa City with Boom For Nothing, Banquet, and Stars Hollow; Chicago with KennyHoopla and Harrison Gordon; Cleveland with Runaway Brother and Snarls; Columbus with Footballhead and For Your Health; and Detroit with Lane and Saturdays At Your Place.
Later in the year, they’ll play day two of Asbury Park’s Sea.Hear.Now festival (with blink-182, Sublime, Public Enemy, TV On The Radio, Spoon, Mannequin Pussy, and more) and day one of Pittsburgh’s Four Chord Music Fest (with blink-182, Jimmy Eat World, State Champs, Set Your Goals, Knuckle Puck, and more). After that, they do a UK/Europe tour with Pierce the Veil, followed by the E.N.D. Cruise in January 2026. All dates are listed below.
Tracklist
1. Moving to Bed Bug Island
2. And a Big Load
3. It Smells like Fudge Axe in Here
4. Island n the Sun (feat. Cory Castro of Free Throw)
5. Bon Jonah
6. This Makes Me Yummy
7. Monica Lewinskibidi
8. Milam Minute
9. Cream of Wheat of Feet Naw Cream of (feat.)
10. Mix Master Wade on the Beat
11. Carbon Monoxide Hotel
12. This Makes Me Yucky
13. Let me See Your Mounts
14. Monster Burger and a $5 Beer
15. Slumdog Scungillionaire
16. My Dad Told Me to Write a Nice One for Nana so This Is It
Hot Mulligan — 2025/2026 Tour Dates
Jun 4, 2025 — Brooklyn, NY — Elsewhere Rooftop (with support from Oso Oso and Wakelee)
Jun 6, 2025 — Philadelphia, PA — The Ukie Club (with support from Prince Daddy and Carly Cosgrove)
Jun 7, 2025 — Crownsville, MD — Let’s Go Music Festival
Jun 9, 2025 — Iowa City, IA — Gabe’s (with support from Boom For Nothing, Bouquet and Stars Hollow)
Jun 10, 2025 — Chicago, IL — Subterranean (with support from KennyHoopla and Harrison Gordon)
Jun 12, 2025 — Cleveland, OH — Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (with support from Runaway Brother and Snarls)
Jun 14, 2025 — Manchester, TN — Bonnaroo
Jun 15, 2025 — Columbus, OH — Ace of Cups (with support from Footballhead and For Your Health)
Jun 16, 2025 — Detroit, MI — The Sanctuary (with support from Hemmingway Lane and Saturdays At Your Place)
Sep 13, 2025 – Sep 14, 2025 — Asbury Park, NJ — Sea.Hear.Now. Festival
Sep 13, 2025 – Sep 14, 2025 — Pittsburgh, PA — Four Chord Music Fest
Sep 20, 2025 — Dublin, Ireland — 3Arena *
Sep 23, 2025 — London, UK — OVO Arena Wembley *
Sep 25, 2025 — Manchester, UK — Co-op Live *
Sep 26, 2025 — Glasgow, UK — OVO Hydro *
Sep 27, 2025 — Birmingham, UK — Utilita Arena Birmingham *
Sep 29, 2025 — Amsterdam, Netherlands — AFAS Live *
Oct 2, 2025 — Düsseldorf, Germany — Mitsubishi Electric Halle *
Oct 3, 2025 — Munich, Germany — Zenith *
Oct 4, 2025 — Antwerp, Belgium — Lotto Arena *
Jan 22, 2026 – Jan 26, 2026 — Miami, FL — E.N.D. Cruise
* – supporting Pierce the Veil