Hamilton, ON’s Thomas Duxbury and New Mother Nature continue to ride the momentum of previously released singles “Istanbul” and “She Never Knows” with “Already Dead,” a brooding and deeply introspective blues-tinged garage rock track that captures the disorienting weight of sleepless nights and spiraling thoughts. Built around eerie guitar textures and restless energy, the song finds Duxbury grappling with isolation and exhaustion while searching for some glimmer of light beyond the darkness. It arrives as the latest single from the band’s forthcoming album, set for release on May 19th, 2026.
“I was lying awake in bed, anxiously stuck in my thoughts and unable to sleep,” Duxbury explains. “It felt like I had been awake for weeks and was losing touch with reality. In my mind I kept picturing myself driving my old red Ford Ranger down a dirt road at dusk, trying to clear my head. I wanted to try and fight my way back to some sort of light and hope that I could cling to.”
“Already Dead” sits in the uneasy space between awareness and detachment. Duxbury describes moving through crowds and conversations while carrying a private internal battle no one else could see. “There was a war going on in my mind that I was alone in and the people around me were completely unaware,” he says. “I didn’t want to talk about it. I just wanted to keep it to myself.”
Musically, “Already Dead” leans into experimentation. The track’s eerie opening tone was created by recording an electric guitar with microphones placed on it like an acoustic instrument, before layering spring reverb to heighten its ghostly atmosphere. Later in the song, a fuzz-laden guitar solo introduces a sound Duxbury has continued developing in his live playing and collaborative work. “I was experimenting with chromatic lines in the solo,” he explains. “It almost feels like summoning a snake.”
Though its origins lie in a deeply personal period of anxiety and depression, the song has taken on new meaning since its creation. Duxbury initially hesitated to release it due to the vulnerability of the subject matter, but encouragement from friends and collaborators changed his mind. “A bunch of my friends and colleagues resonated with it,” he says. “If releasing this song helps someone feel less alone during a dark moment, then it feels worth putting it out into the world.”
1. What did you enjoy most about the creation of this new release?
I think for me it was having the original lineup of Zach, Bruce, and Myself in the studio on this. It was very exciting to see how far we have all come in our creative pursuits on this. Zach added a super cool acoustic guitar part during the bridge and absolutely crushed it on the drums, Bruce really brought it together with his bass parts. And having everyone together for the backup vocals was a real treat. I would also perhaps say the solo on this was super fun to do, what ended up staying on the record was just a take of me experimenting with some different scales on my couch. I still have not completely remembered what exactly it was that I was playing that day but it came out pretty magical in my opinion!
2. Share a nugget of advice that has resonated with you most over the years.
Stay true to what you set out to create and try to capture it as honestly as possible. You’re going to change as a person after you write something, you’re going to hear things differently, and you’re going to write something “better,” but there’s always something in what got you from point A to point B.
It’s easy to get hung up on demo-itis and trying to make everything perfect, but at a certain point it’s about knowing when to let a song be free. Sometimes there’s perfection in the imperfections, just letting something come together naturally at the right time without overthinking or overcomplicating it.
I look back on things I did 5-10 years ago and while I would have made different decisions now it was a building block to get me here and now. I look back on all of that and am super proud of the things I have accomplished.
Easier said than done though.
3. Who would be your dream artist/band to co-headline a tour with?
I would probably have to say The Black Keys. Dan Auerbach’s music has been a massive influence on me as an artist.
Blue Rodeo would be another big one for me, or Sloan. I’d also love to do some stuff with The Commoners again, it was an absolute honour to open for them.
There are too many to choose from though, it’s hard to just say one and leave it at that.
4. What sets your music apart from others in your genre?
I think we bring a lot of collaborative influences and a super dynamic live performance. Quentin and I were talking about this a few weeks ago. We have some tunes that sit a bit more in a traditional rock n roll lane, but we also have the flexibility to go beyond that.
Already Dead is a bit of a step in that more experimental direction while still retaining our rock n roll roots. We bring a blues-inspired element into the garage rock genre, with some surf influence and a bit of 50s and 60s music in there as well.
5. Tell us what your favourite song is at the moment and why.
Right now I’d say “Girls Keith” by Tarka Cordell. It’s got that perfect “winter’s over, spring’s here, go for a country drive to an antique market” kind of thing.
Honourable mentions: “Little Wiser” by Be Cool Cowboy, “Black Sap Scriptures” by Plague Vendor, and “Sweet Seasons” by Invisible Bandits (recorded at my studio Bonnie Doon Records, out May 5th ).
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