by Patrick Pilch (@pratprilch)
Philly/NYC five piece The Human Fly are gearing up to release their third studio album Thrill of Living on August 5 via the always reliable Dead Definition. This will be the band’s first proper record since their Indy500 EP if you don’t include vocalist Robert Mathis’ scrappy pandemic-driven solo effort A Bottle of Milk in the Eye. While it feels like Mathis is the primary songwriter, The Human Fly is very much a band and Thrill of Living is their tightest and most ambitious project yet. Today we’re premiering the album’s ambitious, tone-setting opener “A New Perspective.”
The Human Fly kick off their record confident as ever. Jenny Carlson, Pru Carmichael, Jack Knetemann, and Alex Tregaskis sink into undeniable grooves between Mathis’ life-affirming speculations. “Chance is home is not specific/It’s whatever place you’re in/Maybe home is perpetually/Chasing peacefulness.” The song really opens into an unshakable instrumental hook I can only imagine being a blast live. Recorded by Heather Jones at Headroom Studios and So Big Auditory, Thrill of Living is a record celebrating community during hardship, a silver lining album fueled by friendship.