Dublin alt-rock powerhouse THUMPER have announced their highly anticipated sophomore album 'Sleeping With The Light On', set for release in February 2026. The announcement arrives alongside the ambitious new single 'Middle Management' – a sprawling 10-minute psych-rock odyssey that sees the six-piece pushing their sound into bold new territory.
'Middle Management' stands as an outlier on the album, clocking in at double the length of its companion tracks. A steadily building surge of riff-driven fuzz and raw intensity, the single channels psych-pop confidence while infusing a more experimental edge. Its sound expands through a flourishing, powerful build and urgent vocal delivery, before culminating in a wall of guitars that fade into an immersive, psychedelic close. The track also marks a first for THUMPER, featuring co-producer Rian Trench on synth and piano.
According to frontman Oisin Furlong Leahy, the song has been years in the making: "The first demo dates back to well before the first album, and there were probably 10 versions since then. During COVID, as we knuckled down with this new body of work, the song re-emerged and we very gradually hammered it into shape, condensing years of ideas into something cohesive."
Following their Choice Music Prize-nominated debut 'Delusions of Grandeur' – which saw them nominated alongside the likes of CMAT, Fontaines D.C., and Dermot Kennedy – THUMPER have become festival mainstays across Europe, playing Reading & Leeds, Mad Cool, Iceland Airwaves, and Electric Picnic. The band are poised to take their raucous live show on the road with a string of tour dates announced for February 2026.
Have a listen to 'Middle Management' in the player below.