Wonk Unit Release Music Video for "Overwhelmed"
WONK UNIT RELEASE MUSIC VIDEO FOR
“OVERWHELMED”
SINGLE OFF GOOD GOOD GLAD TO HEAR IT LP
UK PUNKS’ FIRST WITH PIRATES PRESS RECORDS
CLICK HERE TO WATCH
London, UK - November 22, 2024 - Longtime banner carriers for fiercely independent DIY punk in UK, Wonk Unit are set to release their ninth studio LP, Good Good Glad To Hear It, and the band have just released the video for the album’s latest single, “Overwhelmed.” The album is available NOW for pre-order via Pirates Press Records, the band’s first full length for the label. Click here to watch the video for “Overwhelmed.”
Based in the South London town of Croydon, the band has its origins in lead singer/songwriter/guitarist Alex Wonk’s experience in rehab 25 years ago, where he found journaling and sharing his experience with others liberating. After completing his time in hospital, Alex set about crafting songs from his “addiction journals,” and from this sharing of unvarnished honesty, Wonk Unit was born.
“Wonk Unit is a vessel for my life. My way of coping with its ups and downs,” says Alex. And their music has always intentionally defied easy classification and pigeonholing. “It was punk,” he says of the band’s earliest music, “but not as I’d previously known.”
“Overwhelmed” is a moving message from singer, songwriter, & guitarist Alex Wonk to his daughter Aubrey in the aftermath of his marriage falling apart. Given the very personal subject matter, it stands out as one of the most emotionally honest songs the band has yet released.
“[Our] shared single room…was separated into 2 halves by pink and blue curtains. One side Aubrey asleep in her cot, the other side me, only alive because of my daughter. Those were the saddest, most precious, painful, terrifying times of my life,” says Alex, before adding, “Things are good now.”
The video for "Overwhelmed" was assembled by Wonk Unit's former drummer Adam Stone, and consists entirely of home movie footage of Alex, Aubrey, and their loved ones, underscoring the deep emotional resonance of the song. The video is available to watch on the Pirates Press Records YouTube channel.
“Overwhelmed” can also be found on all major streaming platforms, and is now available to download on Bandcamp when you pre-order Good Good Glad To Hear It. It was preceded by the album’s lead single “Rapidly Declining Dignity.” Additionally, “The Thickest Skin” was released as a standalone single back in April, and appears on the album as well. Both of these songs had accompanying music videos as well.
Photo courtesy of Wonk Unit
The 12 songs on Good Good Glad To Hear It are the diverse fruits of a long term process of songwriting and collaboration that takes the listener on an emotional journey. “There are no rules in the Wonk song book other than everything has to have meaning and is important to me. These songs need to be written. They all had, for whatever reason, a burning desire to be released from my head,” says Alex, who estimates that more than half of the vocals, guitars, and keys on the finished product were recorded as voice notes using nothing more than his cell phone mic. Aside from “EQ magic” courtesy of long term engineer/co-producer Andy Brook, there is no studio trickery to hide behind, and what appears on the record are the raw takes as played by Alex and his bandmates Vez, Max, Pwosion, Ryan, and AJ, as well as a group of studio collaborators adding instrumentation such as keys, horns, and banjo.
Just as journaling and sharing with others in rehab helped Alex to get sober and see a way through to the next stage of life, sharing songs that speak the truth of his experiences with the band’s audience continues to carry him through life’s ongoing struggles. Consequently, the band has attracted a large and diverse group of devoted fans who immediately recognize that these are true stories of resilience that can serve as a touchstone in their own lives. The true stories on Good Good Glad To Hear It are certain to find their way to even more.
Pirates Press Records is proud to release Wonk Unit’s Good Good Glad To Hear It on 12” Classic Black Vinyl and 12” Transparent Orange & Black Swirl Vinyl. Pre-orders commence via the PPR webstore on October 04, 2024, and the record will be available everywhere on December 06.
The band’s seemingly non-stop slate of touring continues through the end of 2024, and they have recently been announced on several festivals in 2025, including Blackpool, UK’s Rebellion Festival.
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Tracklist:
Side A
01) Rapidly Declining Dignity
02) Now That I’ve Grown Up
03) Luxury Flats
04) Overwhelmed
05) Shiny Horses
06) The Thickest Skin
Side B
07) Complicated Girl
08) Everything Is Clean
09) True To Who I Am
10) The Oldest Cliche
11) You Spook Me
12) Stage Fright
WONK UNIT TOUR DATES:
11/23/2024 - Stafford, UK - Redrum
11/24/2024 - Lancaster, UK - Ye Olde John O'Gaunt
12/06/2024 - Northwich, UK - The Salty Dog
12/07/2024 - Gateshead, UK - Central Bar
12/08/2024 - Grimsby, UK - Yardbirds
12/20/2024 - Peterborough, UK - The Ostrich Inn
12/21/2024 - Sheffield, UK - Sidney and Matilda
12/22/2024 - London, UK - Signature Brew Haggerston
05/02/2025-05/04/2025 - Chesterfield, UK - Valefest
05/03/2025 - Reading, UK - The Butler - The Shadow Shuffle II
08/07/2024-08/10/2024 -Blackpool, UK - Winter Gardens - Rebellion Festivals
