Thurston Moore Previews New Album With Heady ‘Hashish’

Thurston Moore shared a new song, “Hashish,” which will appear on his upcoming album, By the Fire, out September 25th via his Daydream Library Series label.

The track — as its title suggests — is a heady bit of alt-rock that starts with a tangle of jangly guitars before settling into a mesmerizing chug. The song’s overtly psychedelic lyrics — “Is it day or night/We just don’t know/She’s my only friend, my soul, my hope” — were penned by the London-based poet Radieux Radio, with whom Moore collaborated on 2017s Rock n Roll Consciousness.

“Hashish” also arrives with a video featuring footage of the Thurston Moore Group — Moore, Deb Googe, James Sedwards and Jem Doulton — performing during a recent tour. It also mixes in clips filmed during self-isolation amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

By the Fire will mark Moore’s first album since Rock n Roll Consciousness. The record features contributions from the aforementioned members of the Thurston Moore Group, as well as Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley on drums and Negativland’s Leidecker.

In a statement, via Clash, Moore said of By the Fire, “These are love songs in a time where creativity is our dignity, our demonstration against the forces of oppression. By the Fire is a gathering, a party of peace — songs in the heat of the moment.”