UK alt-rock band Basement has just announced their highly anticipated new album titled WIRED, their first release in eight years and a reunion with original label Run For Cover Records.

Today, the band — vocalist Andrew Fisher, guitarists Alex Henery and Ronan Crix, bassist Duncan Stewart, and drummer James Fisher — tease Wired with the release of lead singles “WIRED” and “Broken By Design,” which together showcase the album’s dynamic breadth. The title-track is the most urgent they’ve ever sounded, a surefire live staple propelled by needling guitars, a slugging drumbeat, and a skyscraping hook that finds Fisher’s voice in peak form. “Broken By Design” has the opposite temperament: dusky, delicate, bass-led, but still quintessentially Basement in its immediate catchiness and moody character.

Speaking of the singles the band’s Andrew Fisher says, “‘WIRED’ is about how sometimes it feels that we are set up to feel and behave in certain ways beyond our control. That no matter how hard you try to hide it, eventually it will come out - either by choice or by force. This song was almost lost - a few of us were into it, but it sort of lost traction for a bit. Then one day it cropped back up and we put it at the forefront of our minds and it ended up being one of my favourite songs to perform and record.”

He continues, “‘Broken By Design’ is about giving something your absolute best and realising it’s destined to fail. Getting to the other side of the situation, looking back and deciding to do everything differently and feeling grateful for the opportunity to grow. We’ve all done a lot of work on getting better at talking to each other as friends and as band mates. Sometimes that's an easy distinction - or rather, not a distinction at all. Other times, the lines are blurred and we lose track of who we are and why we do this. When I’m singing, ‘let’s go back to the start’ I mean to when we did this purely for fun. For an excuse to see each other, to travel, to be creative, to express ourselves through music. We all feel so lucky to be in a position to still get to do this and this album and this song in particular, is us trying to go back to how it should be.”

Both songs are now streaming below, for a taste of Basement's immersive sound showcaing their meticulous songwriting and cohesive artistic vision. Broken by Design is definitely a new direction for the band, with a lighter more jangly and angular sound similar to bands like Pinback.

RIYL like Superheaven, Citizen, Balance and Composure, Title Fight, Turnover