Track of the Day: THUMPER - 'Circles'

Dublin outfit THUMPER are back with a dual release today - their long-awaited released cover of Natasha Bedingfield's classic hit 'Unwritten' and a new original song called 'Circles'.

The sextet's new single brings their usual tenacious, wall of noise and irrepressible energy. A driving twang of guitar wailing acts as the bedrock for the headbanger, fuelled by aggressive dual drums and gritty vocals.

"You're sending me 'round in circles," frontman Oisín Leahy Furlong repeats. The release comes just days before the Choice Music Prize Awards, where THUMPER’s debut album Delusions of Grandeur has been nominated for Album of the Year, alongside fellow coveted Irish acts Fontaines D.C., CMAT and Dermot Kennedy.

Also out today via Reckless Records is their recorded version of 2019's 'Unwritten' cover. THUMPER initially performed a live, ramshackle version of the Natasha Bedingfield smash for BBC Introducing four years ago. Calling on the propulsive fuzz of bands like King Gizzard and Parquet Courts, they essentially cooked up their own song while lead vocalist Oisín Leahy Furlong simply belted whatever lyrics from the tune he could remember over the top.

This random, wonderful left turn in THUMPER’s catalogue cements them as one of the most exciting and unpredictable acts to emerge from Ireland's booming guitar scene.

As Natasha herself once sang; “I am unwritten. Can’t read my mind, I’m undefined. I’m just beginning. The pens in my hand: Ending Unplanned”.

THUMPER formed during Leahy-Furlong’s final six months at BIMM music college. Now, a few years on, he has guitarists Alan Dooley and Alex Harvey, bassist Dav Campbell, and drummers Stevie D’Arcy and Benedict Warner-Clayton, by his side.

Listen to 'Circles' below.