Uniform have detailed their fifth full-length LP. The New York industrial outfit will deliver new album American Standard on August 23 via Sacred Bones Records.
Lyrically, American Standard's four tracks focus on "the small human being crushed in the grip of sickness," following a narrative of "eating disorders, self-hatred, delusion, mania, and ultimate discovery."
"Although our new record is best experienced as one cohesive piece, it isn't exactly Dopesmoker," vocalist and songwriter Michael Berdan shares of the LP. "The songs on American Standard feed into an overarching narrative with the goal of retaining their own individual identities."
Berdan worked alongside authors B.R. Yeager (Negative Space) and Maggie Siebert (Bonding) to "present a portrait of mental and physical illness as vividly terrifying as anything in the present-day canon."
Musically, American Standard features a dual-drummer setup Michael Sharp and longtime touring timekeeper Michael Blume, the latter making his recorded debut. Further rhythmic support is found in the involvement of Interpol bassist Brad Truax.
The two-drummer approach is highlighted by "This Is Not a Prayer," which you can hear below. Berdan explains that the song was inspired by his own experience with bulimia nervosa.
"Thematically, 'This Is Not a Prayer' touches on the internal paradox that I've experienced while in the throes of an eating disorder," he shares. "It's about how the best I've ever felt about my physical appearance came when the people I love have told me that I look sick. Rather than taking their concerns to heart, I internalized these sentiments as proof that I was on the right track. I was not."
The four-track American Standard follows 2020 album Shame. Uniform teamed with Boris for the collaborative Bright New Disease in 2023.
American Standard:
1. American Standard
2. This Is Not a Prayer
3. Clemency
4. Permanent Embrace