Emma Ruth Rundle has a new album on the way. These Killing Times is slated for release on September 18 via her own imprint Errant Child. Today’s announcement comes with the release of the raging, hypnotic single ‘Powerless’. Check it out and find the album cover and tracklist below.
Following 2021’s Engine of Hell and its vulnerable, stripped-back sound, These Killing Times finds Rundle returning to a full-band arrangement, bringing together drummer Jess Gowrie (Chelsea Wolfe, Mrs. Piss), longtime collaborator Troy Zeigler, Patrick Shiroishi, Nick Reinhart (Tera Melos), Gina Gleason (Baroness), Marissa Nadler, Lukas Frank (Storefront Church), and Amelia Baker (Cinder Well). It was recorded by Sonny Diperri. “I wanted to feel fortified by friendships and to be in community with other musicians – to make something that pushed back against the isolation,” she reflected.
Commenting on ‘Powerless’, Rundle said: “This song was initially titled ‘Noam Chomsky is Dead to Me’ – as his relationship to Epstein and the billionaire class was being exposed – just another massively disappointing headline in a time where we are incessantly confronted with an onslaught of news and headlines which are endlessly demoralizing and dehumanizing.” She continued:
This song – like most of the songs on These Killing Times – is a reaction to the horrors we are seeing laid bare on a daily basis – the clear and painful reality of the myriad injustices levied upon the working class people of earth – from climate collapse to genocide to the miscarriage of justice on a scale- the likes of which we have not seen in our lifetimes- the collapse of empire, the demise of democracy, the erosion of women’s rights and LGBTQIA+ rights and black rights, the attempt to dehumanize immigrants and people of color, the concentration camps in the USA – the list is so long I don’t think I can accurately cover it all here. With ‘Powerless’ – I invoke the hammer; both to destroy and to build – something better. I want people to know they are not alone – they are not insane – I wanted to name the thing that has been causing me so much mental, emotional and spiritual anguish. Sometimes singing – especially repeating phases – can work to fortify one’s self and I think that’s where the bridge of ‘Powerless’ comes in – I refuse to let my agency and resolve become corrupted or diluted by the powers that be and I want others to feel empowered too.
These Killing Times Cover Artwork:
These Killing Times Tracklist:
1. Powerless
2. God’s Picture
3. Anvil
4. Catherine Wheel
5. Don’t Delay Heaven
6. Enough
7. Human Kindness
8. Oceans of Time
