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.”

What can you share with readers about your new project?

This album is a deep dive into a time in my life where I feel like I was on a journey. It begins very confidently but quickly descends into these ideas of being lost and broken. The album kinda finds its way back. I think it reflects a lot of what I was feeling at the time. Confident, realizing what I’m in for, lost, searching, discovering, working, and eventually working towards brighter days. The journey of the record is about being broken down and then rebuilt again, all while being far away from home.

How does this release compare with your other projects you had in the past?

I feel like Already Dead is more of an exploration into the low points in a journey. It’s this idea of being in the passenger seat of my own existence and just watching everything I worked so hard for burn around me. It sits right in the middle of that feeling of being lost in the storm and not being able to see a way out.

What about this single makes you most proud?

I think with this track it’s that I stepped outside of my comfort zone in a lot of ways. Musically I’m being a bit more experimental with melodic choices and guitar work. Lyrically, I’m being very honest and vulnerable. It’s almost an acceptance of defeat. Feeling lost, like there’s no way out. I almost didn’t want to release this song because it explores such personal ideas, like feeling already dead and just drifting through my own life. Hiding behind a smile and a bubbly personality sometimes. Just a passenger.

Was there a specific goal you were trying to accomplish with this release?

Yeah, I mean as I said, this record is a journey, and I think it’s important to address all aspects of that. This song is very much a low point where I’m lost and don’t see an end in sight. Waiting for something to change, or for the universe to present some kind of opportunity. It captures a really crucial moment in the story of the album.

What inspires you to create music? What motivates you to keep going?

It comes from a lot of places. Sometimes I’ll write a song just so I have something fun to solo over, or a riff to play with the band. Other times it’s more like journaling and a song comes out of that. Sometimes I just get a hook stuck in my head and need to turn it into something.

Honestly, sometimes writing feels like the only option I have. I don’t know what I’d do without it. Creating has gotten me through so many low points in my life. Other times it’s about expressing something positive or just chasing a fun idea. It’s kind of magical like that.

If you could collaborate with anyone – dead or alive, famous or unknown – who would it be and why? If it’s an indie/DIY artist, please include a link so readers can check them out.

Probably Dan Auerbach. I’m a huge fan of everything coming out of his label Easy Eye Sound, and The Black Keys are a band I pretty much grew up on.

https://open.spotify.com/user/df60fk2drowewa5ivm4wv6kpw?si=cffb50eca6b94de5

What was the last song you listened to? Favorite all-time bands/artists?

“What’d I Say” by Rare Earth, I was listening to it at the gym. As for favourite artists, I can’t really pick, but Creedence Clearwater Revival, Santana, The Black Keys, The Orwells, John Lee Hooker, Junior Kimbrough, Blue Rodeo, Wilko Johnson from Dr. Feelgood, Gary Clark Junior, Sloan, and Supertramp have all been really influential on my writing and guitar style.

Where is the best place to find you and stay connected?

I’m probably most active on Instagram. You can find the band at @thomasduxburynmn or my studio at @bonniedoonrecords. We’re also on TikTok @thomas_duxbury, and of course YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, just search Thomas Duxbury.

I really appreciate your time. Is there anything you’d like to share before we sign off?

Keep on keepin on. Thanks for having us, and thanks for reading this. I’m Thom, I make tunes. Thanks Mother! Woah, Rock n roll! ️️️ Have a wonderful day! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

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“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.”