The The will be releasing a brand new single on April 18th for Record Store Day.
"I Want 2 B U" is the first song Matt Johnson has written and recorded using the Omnichord since 1983's "This Is The Day." A snipped of the incredibly cooooool sounding single is available to stream below.
Matt Johnson continues to keep it a family affair -- "I Want 2 B U" and the b-side "Velvet Muscle Scream" are both featured Muscle, the critically acclaimed new film by his brother Gerard Johnson. Meanwhile the sleeve artwork was created by Matt’s late brother Andy Dog who also designed all of The The's early singles and album sleeves.
"I Want 2 B U" is considered a "Record Store Day First Release" which means it will be available in limited quantities (1500 copies). As you know, it is exceptionally hard to obtain some of the hottest releases on Record Store Day - not every store stocks every release, and flippers are usually out in full force. The The's last single, "We Can't Stop What's Coming" was issued as a single for RSD in 2017 and it was almost impossible to find other than for big buck$$$$$ on Ebay.
The good news is that The The will likely be issuing more copies down the road - they are using Record Store Day sales to gauge further pressings.
Either way, it's beyond fantastic to see Matt Johnson back at it releasing new material. Enjoy the snippet of "I Want 2 B U" below: