Hawthorne Heights have released their heavy-hitting yet emotionally-driven new single “Thunder In Our Hearts” today. Reminiscent of some of their most iconic hit singles with soaring melodies, punching screams and non-stop guitars, “Thunder In Our Hearts” puts words to the feelings that come with panic attacks that front man JT Woodruff experienced while writing the band’s forthcoming studio album.
He shares, “During the ‘Rain Sessions’ I developed panic attacks that kept me up until 4am every night, and I just couldn’t shake them. So most nights, I was laying in the bed shaking til 4am, then waking up at 7am to get ready for the recording session. Every night, my heart felt like it was going to explode, and there were moments that truly scared me. During one of my shakedowns, I wrote these lyrics about how the darkness that I feel always happens between the nightmare and the dream, and it just seemed to hit right. It all started to make sense. I needed to be home. I wanted to be home. But I just couldn’t get there.”
Fans can stream “Thunder In Our Hearts” today at https://youtu.be/rfk7HTgmPis.
Today’s single joins previously released tracks “Constant Dream” and “The Rain Just Follows Me” from Hawthorne Heights’ forthcoming album. The Rain Just Follows Me, which will be released digitally on September 10, 2021 via Pure Noise Records, was produced by Grammy-winner Cameron Webb (Alkaline Trio, NOFX, Megadeth). The 11 tracks stand as some of Woodruff’s most resonant writing to date, as he unravels themes of both physical and emotional distance from his wife and daughter in Ohio as well as personal identity as the front man of as one of the most iconic emo acts of the new millennium.
“The most unbelievable part of this story is that this entire album was written and recorded BEFORE the pandemic,” singer JT Woodruff shares. “All of this darkness and turmoil is basically a summation of the coldest and loneliest nights I’ve tried to reconcile for the past 17 years.”
Eager to hit the studio again as soon as possible after their 2018 release Bad Frequencies – and probably a bit naive about how much they could physically take – the writing sessions for LP8 took place in unusual places: in sound checks and dressing rooms, in far-flung rehearsal studios after marathon overnight drives. Hawthorne Heights weren’t just burning the candle at both ends; they were splitting it in two, then letting the flames engulf the smaller pieces completely.
The Rain Just Follows Me can be pre-ordered at https://smarturl.it/ hawthorneheightsoh and will also be released in stores with limited edition vinyl variants on October 22, 2021.
The Rain Just Follows Me Track List
1. Constant Dread
2. The Rain Just Follows Me
3. Holy Coast
4. Tired And Alone
5. Thunder In Our Hearts
6. Spray Paint It Black
7. Dull Headlights
8. Palm Canyon Drive
9. Seafoam
10. Words Can\’t Hurt
11. Bambarra Beach (The End)
Most of all, this upcoming release is quintessentially Hawthorne Heights. It’s who they’ve always been – they just needed to push down the heartache and strife long enough to rediscover those intangible characteristics.
“We want to create the best songs that are accurate depictions of our lives and connect to other people through our songs,” Woodruff says. “I hope this record helps people understand that others out there are thinking like them – and thinking about them. Everyone gets poured on in life; we just want to provide an umbrella.”
Hawthorne Heights are currently on the road with Bayside, Senses Fail and The Bombpops on the 21 Years of Bad Luck Tour. A full list of tour dates are available below with tickets are on sale now at https://hawthorneheights. com/tour/.
Upcoming Tour Dates
August 31 – New Brookland Tavern – Columbia, SC*
September 1 – Cat\’s Cradle – Carrboro, NC
September 2 – Rams Head Live! – Baltimore, MD
September 3 – Franklin Music Hall – Philadelphia, PA
September 4 – Starland Ballroom – Sayreville, NJ
September 5 – House of Blues Boston – Boston, MA
September 7 – Terminal 5 – New York, NY
September 8 – Buffalo Riverworks – Buffalo, NY
September 9 – Spirit Hall – Pittsburgh, PA*
September 10 – Agora Theater and Ballroom – Cleveland, OH
September 11 – Brooklyn Bowl Nashville – Nashville, TN
September 12 – Pop\’s – Sauget, IL
September 14 – Bogart\’s – Cincinnati, OH
September 15 – The Crofoot Ballroom – Pontiac, MI
September 16 – The Village Theater of East Davenport – Davenport, IA
September 17 – First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN
September 19 – Concord Music Hall – Chicago, IL
September 21 – Gas Monkey Bar N\’ Grill – Dallas, TX
September 22 – Emo\’s Austin – Austin, TX
September 23 – Rockhouse Bar – El Paso, TX*
September 24 – The Van Buren – Phoenix, AZ
September 25 – Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas – Las Vegas, NV
September 26 – The Wiltern – Los Angeles, CA
September 28 – House of Blues Anaheim – Anaheim, CA
September 29 – The UC Theatre – Berkeley, CA
October 1 – Showbox SoDo – Seattle, WA
October 2 – Crystal Ballroom – Portland, OR
October 3 – The Alpine – Reno, NV*
October 4 – The Union Event Center – Salt Lake City, UT
October 5 – Gothic Theatre – Englewood, CO