Hailing from Michigan, Wounded Touch (featured on IDIOTEQ three years ago) unveils their latest single and video, “Sleep a Cicada Would Envy,” released through Smartpunk Records. The track showcases a rhythmic, forceful style infused with melodic elements, reminiscent of mid-2000s post-hardcore influences such as Poison The Well and Finch.
The band’s talent for technical precision and delivering powerful breakdowns culminates in an emotionally charged finale. Andy Nelson of Bricktop Recording handled recording and mixing, while Brad Boatright at Audiosiege mastered the track. Alongside the single, three live recordings from the Little Buildings venue in Newcastle, England are also available. Give it a listen now.
Diving into the track, the band states: “‘Sleep a Cicada Would Envy’ is an artist’s metaphorical two week’s notice. Lyrically it’s about the desire to seek much needed sleep, which the narrator hopes lasts as long as a cicada’s own cycle, after leaving behind their own hollow, emotionless “shell” in the form of one final song.”
The horror film-esque video for the song was conceptualized and directed by vocalist Nick Holland and filmed at an abandoned summer camp in the metro Detroit area. It is just as much influenced by early 2000s video games like Fatal Frame and Eternal Darkness as it is by the films Jacob’s Ladder, Kill List, and 8MM. The video finds the band being watched through cameras by a restless detective with the real (or is it) target being the ‘Cicada Man’.
On creating the video concept, Holland expands: “We made arrangements to film at an abandoned summer camp in the metro Detroit area and the crew we were going to film with were suddenly unavailable. The only camera we found ourselves with access to that day was an old DSLR of mine, the obsolete quality looked like older CCTV footage and it gave me the idea of mounting the camera in various angles to play to that and make it look like surveillance footage on a damaged VHS tape.
Which of course led to the question, who would be watching surveillance footage of a band and why would they be jamming in this of all places? All I could think of was casting my friend Dustin Prince who is an actor I’ve worked with several times as a detective attempting to obtain some kind of information from the tape, but I didn’t want to just leave it at that and accept it as ‘music video logic.’ I wanted to actually give him a reason for watching. Knowing it had to in some way play into themes of the song itself, we chased the idea of insomnia and embodied the desire for sleep as an elusive cryptid we called the ‘Cicada Man’ whose exoskeleton is made of the character’s discarded notes of paper. Of course the cop out ‘it was all just a dream’ ending might seem like an easy route, but so much of it felt like the hazy, half remembered details of a fever dream to begin with.”
“Sleep a Cicada Would Envy” marks Wounded Touch’s first single following the band’s album AMERICANXIETY released in March 2022. The record saw acclaim from the likes of Metal Hammer, BrooklynVegan, and Distorted Sound, and featured on staff best of lists on Kerrang and Invisible Oranges. 2023 has found the band playing shows around the midwest and beyond, including dates supporting bands like Frail Body and See You Next Tuesday, and performances at South By South West.
Wounded Touch is Nick Holland (vocals), Jeremy Schultz (drums), Kyle Maddock (guitar), Mike Poshedly (guitar) and Dylan Duffiney (bass).
Upcoming Shows:
6/14 – Detroit, MI @ Sanctuary w/ GIF From God, Gods Eyes
7/8 – Pontiac, MI @ PUG Fest (The Crofoot) w/ Greyhaven, Mouthbreather, Frail Body, For Your Health, and more
“Treading familiar paths previously paved by the likes of Poison the Well, Zao and Hopesfall, Wounded Touch embrace classic elements of the sound and showcase a skilled balance of well-honed hostility on the track.” – Knotfest
“The Michigan quartet knows how to make listeners uncomfortable but in the best way possible.” – New Noise Magazine
“Wounded Touch is a band that clearly understands the power of a dynamic musical arrangement. The group pens songs built around swirling grooves, chaotic tempo shifts, and memorable guitar riffs.” – No Echo
