“It’s vital to be hopeful.” The The share new single Cognitive Dissident, the first taste of Ensoulment, their first album in almost 25 years

The The will release Ensoulment, their first album in almost 25 years, on September 6, via Cinéola / earMUSIC. And you can hear the album's first single, Cognitive Dissident, right here, right now.

Best known for their '80s albums Infected (1986) and Mind Bomb (1989), the latter of which featured Johnny Marr on guitar and a guest vocal from Sinéad O'Connor on Kingdom Of Rain, The The haven't released an album since 2000's NakedSelf.

Cognitive Dissident, written by mainman Matt Johnson and guitarist Barrie Cadogan will be released as a limited edition seven inch single on June 7. Speaking about the single, Johnson says, “We certainly live in interesting times. The world is becoming more inverted, weird and hallucinogenic by the day.”

Listen to the single below:

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The band's forthcoming album deals with “the meaning of what it is to be human in the 21st century”, according to a press statement.

“It’s vital to be hopeful,” says Matt Johnson. “And I hope people get out of the album what we put into it. It was created under very happy circumstances, with a great vibe amongst the band and all the people that worked on it. There was a lot of thought, a lot of work, a lot of love, a lot of laughter!”

The The have also added a second London date to their forthcoming UK tour, after all four previously-announced dates sold out.

They will play:

Sep 25: Usher Hall, Edinburgh – SOLD OUT
Sep 27: The Civic at The Halls, Wolverhampton – SOLD OUT
Sep 28: Alexandra Palace, London – SOLD OUT
Sep 30: The Apollo, Manchester – SOLD OUT
Oct 01: Brixton Academy, London - NEW DATE

Full details of the Ensouled world tour can be found on the band's website.

A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne's private jet, played Angus Young's Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.