Civil Villains announce second album ‘A Sleeper, Underneath’ — out 8th May
Oxford alt-rock/post-hardcore trio Civil Villains are back with big news: their second album, ‘A Sleeper, Underneath’, drops 8th May 2026 via Thundersnuff Records. To mark the announcement, they’ve dropped a tasty AA single — High Achievers / Shadow Weight — and both tracks come with videos. Yeah, both. Generous lot.
Pre-save ‘A Sleeper, Underneath’ here
Watch the video for Shadow Weight
Something Still Growing Through the Pressure
The album title comes from a line rooted in Thoreau’s Walden — specifically his image of railroad sleepers (the wooden ties) as people being crushed under the march of progress. It’s a heavy metaphor, but vocalist James King flips it into something quietly defiant:
“The idea that society pushes forward so quickly that people, and the natural world, often get crushed in the process. But I liked imagining something still managing to grow through all of that pressure — rising up, blooming, refusing to stay buried.“
Recorded at Shaken Oak Studios and Safehouse Studios in Oxfordshire, the album was produced and mixed by Mike Bannard (Foals, Glass Animals) and Civil Villains themselves, then mastered by Alain Paul Mastering in Germany. Sounds like they kept it close to home — literally and creatively.
About the AA Single
Both tracks give you a real sense of where Civil Villains are heading — and it’s somewhere sharper, more immediate, but no less intricate. King breaks down the stories behind each one:
“High Achievers was born in a generator-powered, converted cowshed in Hampshire. The chorus riff had previously been abandoned after we tried to cram it into too many songs, but we’d never tested it as a lyrical bed. Turns out it just needed the right home. File under: sardonic social commentary.“
“Shadow Weight is a song of two parts — this may be our most successful attempt. The first half is based on an idea I’ve carried around forever; the second is entirely Mark’s beautiful construction. Part eulogy, part dream-state. On some level I think the lyrics were subconsciously influenced by watching X-Men ’97.”
The High Achievers video leans into the band’s creative process — raw, honest, filmed in the studio with producer Mike Bannard and the Shaken Oak team. King says it was important to reflect the “it takes a village” spirit behind the record. Meanwhile, the Shadow Weight clip mirrors the track’s yin-and-yang structure — soft and hard, smooth and angular, gentle and harsh. Two videos, two very different moods.
A Natural Evolution
‘A Sleeper, Underneath’ follows their 2023 debut album ‘Motion Sick’ and finds the band leaning into something more open and instinctive. The angular guitars, dynamic structures and rhythmic unpredictability are still very much present — but there’s more space here, more clarity, more emotional directness. Tighter. More distilled. Still unmistakably Civil Villains.
Lead single Come Home — released earlier this year — set the tone nicely, picking up support from BBC Introducing‘s Dave Gilyeat, plus tastemaker nods from Already Heard and Buttonpusher DIY.
Tracklist — ‘A Sleeper, Underneath’
- Never Felt Better
- High Achievers
- Second Guess
- Horehound
- Shadow Weight
- Punching Down
- Telegraph
- Come Home
- Knives of Ambition
- Crosstalk
- Canvas Stretcher
Live
- 06.03.26 — Tunbridge Wells, The Sussex Arms (aka The Forum Basement) w/ Mould
More dates TBA. Watch this space.
A Quick Rewind
Formed in 2015 by James King (vocals, guitar), Mark Hudson (bass), and Toby Warren (drums, percussion, vocals), Civil Villains have been quietly building something special. Early singles cut at Brighton Electric with Josh Harrison (Royal Blood, Sea Power, Tigercub), a 2019 debut EP ‘Snake Oil’ tracked live with Wayne Adams (USA Nails, JOHN (TIMESTWO)), and then ‘Motion Sick’ in 2023 — a debut album that really put their songwriting in full focus.
Along the way they’ve shared stages with Sparta, Kid Kapichi, Listener and Poly-Math, toured the UK and North America (including headline shows in Toronto and Cambridge, MA), and played festivals from Quebec City to New York. They’re one of those bands quietly doing everything right.
Follow Civil Villains: Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
‘A Sleeper, Underneath’ is out 8th May 2026 via Thundersnuff Records. Pre-save now.
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