UK ska-punks Random Hand are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, and they’ve also just announced their first new album in eight years. It’s self-titled and due September 29 via Bomber Music (pre-order). Speaking via press release, bassist Joe Tilston says, “We pushed ourselves to breaking, then further still. We stopped to recover and then came back with a passion and energy we didn’t think possible.”

“Once we started writing the new album, we hit a groove like in the years the band first started,” he continues. “Things felt so natural and exciting again. Working with Andy Hawkins, who helped us craft ‘Hit Reset’ was the obvious choice. We loved making that album, but recording an album you know you’re not going to tour is a very different experience. This was exciting, potential was oozing out of every session, that didn’t feel stunted or a waste. The choice to call it ‘Random Hand’ felt like a bold statement for album five and two decades into a career. But we feel that good about it, it defines all we’ve done, and we believe it stands as tall as anything else we’ve ever created, if not taller. With all the other great things happening in ska punk in the international scene and in the UK, makes it feel like this album couldn’t be timed better.”

The first single is “Lifejackets,” a driving ska-punk song with rich horns, catchy hooks, and some beefy metal riffs. “It’s a song about the gap between us and those at the top,” Joe says. “For the video we played out in a retro encounter with a tyrannical salesman, who ruins everyone’s day. We descended on one of the empty shops, that litter Keighley’s Highstreet. Closed like a time capsule from the 2008 financial crash, it served as the perfect location for our throwback adventure. It was colder in there than the nice sunny day outside, but we were all dressed like cretins so we stayed in and shivered. But we knew we were onto something special with the talented people we were working with, getting the best out of us.”

Check out the song and its Danny Hardaker-directed video:

Random Hand — 2023 Tour Dates
September
28 Nottingham, The Cold Store
29 Norwich, Arts Centre
30 London, The Dome HANDFEST

October
5 Manchester, Rebellion
6 York, The Crescent
7 Glasgow, Garage Attic
8 Newcastle, Think Tank