The Mission reveal new album

## Songs For Kith And Kin will be the band’s first new record in over a decade

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The Mission return with their first new studio album in over a decade next April, with the hugely anticipated release of _Songs For Kith And Kin_.

Originally planned for 2025, its creation was delayed by lead singer Wayne Hussey having open-heart surgery, and that experience along with his recuperation, has shaped the nature of the new music.

“It’s definitely had an influence lyrically: almost every song mentions ‘heart’. Really, the surgery has made me care even less what others think. I’m doing what I want to do in the new songs, what feels natural,” he reveals. And listening to the album it’s apparent that _Songs For Kith And Kin_ is truly special and undoubtedly one of the greatest records the band have made over the course of their 40-year career.

Huge in scope and sound, it not only recalls the grandeur of early, global hit albums such as _Children_ and _Carved In Sand_, but has the wisdom and stateliness that comes with experience and a renewed zest for life. Both elements are writ large in the first single from the album, the anthemic _Kindness Is A Weapon_. Watch the lyric video below:

#### Kindness Is A Weapon

“On previous records, there’s always been one track I’ve always thought, yeah, this screams out to be the first single. You think about _Wasteland_, you think about _Tower Of Strength_, or _Butterfly On A Wheel_, these songs scream first single. And I didn’t have that feeling on this record about a first single because there’s maybe 7 or 8 singles that could come from this album,” reveals Wayne when talking about the choice of _Kindness Is A Weapon_ as the first single.

“However, we had been playing a version of this song live for about six months before we had to take the hiatus for my surgery, so some of our audience already knew it. I’d come up with the title first, but I was writing new lyrics for it up until the final recording in June this year. You can use kindness as a weapon for good, and you have to let things go at some point. Musically it’s got plenty of elements of classic Mission about it, but there’s elements of classic rock too. It maybe pushes the envelope a little bit for us in terms of sound, but at the same time, it’s also in keeping with what we’ve done in the past. There’s plenty of testosterone in that track.”

The album includes Craig Adams on bass – Hussey’s musical partner since their days in The Sisters of Mercy in the early 80s – as well as featuring the debut on record of Alex Baum, The Mission’s drummer since 2022, who lead guitarist Simon Hinkler credits with bringing an energy and vitality to the band.

“There’s a chemistry with us that clicks and immediately sounds like The Mission. Being in the studio together makes it very apparent. The funny thing is, I remember noticing that chemistry right back in our first rehearsals in 1985,” comments Hinkler.“Wayne and I have complementary styles that are very different around the edges and meet somewhere in the middle. People have observed that, when we both play the same guitar line simultaneously, something special happens. And there’s a thread that runs through Mission work over the years that makes what we do recognisable. It’s a good thing to have – so many bands don’t.”

#### Songs For Kith And Kin

“I wanted to have an arc to the record,” explains Hussey. “It starts off as being current, about my health and physical well-being and also the wider situation in the world today. I’ve never really been a political writer but a couple of the new songs are politically motivated. There’s a lot going on in the world that bothers the soul. It’s hard to ignore it all, so it’s bound to seep into the music. But I’m an optimistic person. I do believe that humans are generally inherently good, and the album moves to family and to where home is. Friends and family are so important in our lives.”

#### TRACKLISTING

Kith And Kin
Operation Chaos
Arrhythmia
Never Say Never Say Die
Kindness Is A Weapon
Circle The Wagons
Heavy (Is The Crown)
Roll With The Punches
Unbroken (asongoflove)
Diving For Pearls
Cleansing The Wound
A Soft Place To Fall
My Very Favourite Life
Sanctuary
The Last Leaf On The Tree

The album will be available on a variety of formats including digital, CD, limited edition vinyl and more. For full details click here.

The Mission are headlining four very special shows at the O2 Forum in London’s Kentish Town at the start of November, celebrating the 40 th Anniversary of their debut album _God’s Own Medicine_ with completely different set lists spanning their entire career, and individual support acts each night.

For tickets click here

Featured image credit: Simon Drake

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