MISSIO, the Alternative Texan duo of Matthew Brue and David Butler, are releasing their new album The Darker The Weather // The Better The Man today, April 12, via RCA Records.
Across the album, the bearded duo siphon soulful alternative from an off-kilter symphony of analog synths, glitchy beats, and sinewy pop dissonance. At the same time, they find strength amidst life's storms as evidenced by the title and the collection's overarching theme.
The preceding two years played out like a rollercoaster for the pair. Their 2017 full-length debut, Loner, yielded a string of fan-favorite singles. In under a year, Bottom Of The Deep Blue Sea clocked upwards of 16 million Spotify streams as Everybody Gets High and the breakout Middle Fingers both surpassed the 11 million mark. The latter topped the "Alt-18 Countdown" on Sirius XM's Alt Nation in addition to going Top 10 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart and Top 20 on Mainstream Rock Songs, Hot Rock Songs, and Rock Airplay Charts. Beyond supporting the likes of Nothing But Thieves and Blue October, the band launched its highly successful headliner, The Loner Tour. Additionally, the cinematic video for Can I Exist scored "Best Music Video" at the Urbanworld Film Festival presented by REVOLT in partnership with HBO. Meanwhile, they performed on Conan and attracted praise from the likes of Rolling Stone.
In order to kick off their next musical chapter, the guys decided to go somewhere "void of distraction to remove all external factors of comfort." So, they retreated to Sonic Ranch Studios in El Paso, TX. "It was the first time I had been somewhere super silent in a long time," says Matthew. "To be able to clear our heads helped establish what our second record turned into."
Among many highlights, I See You represents a gateway into the album by way of the group's artful composition, rich production, and undeniable vocal delivery. A personal favorite of the boys, the first official single transmits an empowering message in its chorus, "I hope that you will see yourself the way that I see you." Watch the just released music video for this track here.
MISSIO initially teased the album with Rad Drugz -also indicative of their progression. Driven by hummable keys and thick percussion, the track unfurls towards an intoxicatingly catchy call-and- response, "Your mama does drugs, your daddy does drugs, everybody does drugs," punctuated by the falsetto "Can't get enough." Within a month, it notched 1 million streams on Spotify and would serve as the name for the group's 2019 headline Rad Drugz Tour.
Funked-up bass throbs beneath propulsive percussion on the energetic P.O.L.I.T.I.C.S. before dropping into a hyper-charged chant. The Wind and The Wave lend tender emotionality to the lovelorn ballad Do You Still Love Me Like You Used To? as Paul Wall and Kota The Friend ignite cameos on the fiery Temple Priest, culminating on the proclamation, "That's why they call me temple priest, motherfucker!" Moreover, Underground bobs and weaves between a bouncy beat and soaring refrain.
The Darker The Weather // The Better The Man is one of the most important album of the year: stream it now clicking on the image.