Ahead of the first show tonight on the highly anticipated reunion tour for Something Corporate, frontman and veteran indie/pop singer/songwriter Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness and his beloved early-2000’s pop-punk band, Something Corporate, have shared their new single, “Death Grip.”
It is out now via Big Loud Rock — representing the first in a new partnership between McMahon and the label, with more expected to come soon. “It’s a privilege for Big Loud Rock to release the first Something Corporate music in 20 years and be in business with Andrew McMahon,” adds Greg Thompson, President of Big Loud Rock. “We are honored to be a partner in his amazing musical journey and are excited to help tell their story.”
It was quite a journey for McMahon to get here with “Death Grip,” as he took a casual trip to Nashville back in April to flex his dormant writing muscle with friends Luke Nicolli and Ivory Layne. It took until the last day he was in town for the trio to perfectly articulate the moment that McMahon had been living in: one of peace and learning to let go and accept that while this craft has defined his life for so long, it doesn’t necessarily need to be the center of every moment in his life.
Once they nailed that down, McMahon knew he wanted to release the song immediately and with the Something Corporate reunion on the horizon, he reached out to his original band mates to gauge their interest in releasing something new for the first time in over 20 years. And for McMahon, it was his first piece of new music since his fourth studio album, Tilt at the Wind No More, back in 2023 under the longstanding Wilderness moniker.
“I honestly didn’t expect to be releasing new music this year,” shares McMahon. “I’ve lived on the write, record, release, tour hamster wheel for a long time and decided after the last album I would do things differently. Giving myself permission to enjoy home, enjoy the reunion shows, and work on other projects has been really good for me. I have historically put so much pressure on myself to keep producing, to keep fighting for my relevance, and I often forget that some of the biggest moments in my career and my life in general have manifested in times when I’ve chosen to take my hands off the wheel a bit and trust that things will be okay. That’s what ‘Death Grip’ is about. Finding a rhythm in life that allows everything to exist at once without forcing things into being.”
“I was nervous to bring up the idea of collaborating with the Something Corporate guys again on this song, but they were so supportive and excited by the idea of taking what we did together so many years ago and layering it onto this Wilderness process I’ve worked within for the last 10 years,” McMahon adds. “Being back in the studio together, it was like no time had passed and the recording came as easy as the creation of the song had been. There was a lot of laughing, a lot of stories told and memories revisited. From the time this song was written to the time it will be available in people’s speakers, less than three months will have passed. There are plenty of arguments to be made for not rushing work out, but I think fast-tracking this song back into the world is the truest way to honor what inspired its creation in the first place. It’s a song about letting go and having faith that everything will work out, so we’re letting it go. We’ll see what happens next. I also have to shout out the Big Loud Rock team, who I’ve been so impressed with. When I told them I was excited to release music on this insane timeline, they didn’t even blink. When I said I have no idea what comes next but I’m inspired, they said they were excited to take this journey with me.”
Watch the accompanying Jax Anderson-directed music video for “Death Grip” below.
The “Out of Office Tour” by Something Corporate officially kicks off tonight, June 20th, at Brooklyn Steel with its first weekend on the road featuring shows in New York City (June 21st at The Rooftop at Pier 17), Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. The 21-date, sold-out reunion tour from the Orange County, California quintet continues throughout the summer and fall stopping in Portland, Seattle, Washington, DC, Boston, Nashville, Atlanta, Cleveland, and Denver, among other cities, before wrapping back home with two California shows: October 11th at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles and October 12th at The Warfield in San Francisco.
Something Corporate will also be performing at select festivals including Chicago’s Riot Fest and Austin City Limits (weekend 1 only). The “Out Of Office Tour” marks the first official cross-country outing featuring the five original members of Something Corporate in over 20 years. See below for full list of upcoming tour dates. Head here for more info on tickets.
