A Thousand Mad Things Releases debut EP “Cry & Dance” out now on Nettwerk

Today, the emerging new wave star A Thousand Mad Things shares his debut EP, “Cry and Dance”, a work of impeccable proficiency and restraint that establishes him as a true one to watch. Today he also shares the captivating new single and video “My Car”.

Explaining the inspiration for the new single, William Barradale of A Thousand Mad Things states “a casual hook up gone wrong, or just a lonely drive… Overthinking secrets, shame and degradation.”

The video, directed by Matt Troman is an absorbing and slightly unsettling depiction of casual queer liaisons coming of age awakenings starring Barradale.

STREAM AND SHARE “CRY AND DANCE” EP

https://athousandmadthings.ffm.to/cryanddance

WATCH AND SHARE “MY CAR” VIDEO

Riddled with the turbulent emotions and unrequited loves of growing up queer in suburban England, but balancing these big feelings with wry self-awareness and a love of musical melodrama, A Thousand Mad Things is a project of multitudes, that turns familiar strife into hook-laden sonic cleansing.

“All the artists that I like have some form of distress or frailty or release in their

performance, Cry and Dance is about that.There’s an act of deep wanting in being an artist, I think. Why else would you go and pour your heart out to strangers?” he adds.

From an early age, it was the unshakable pull toward the music of the ‘80s, played incessantly by his family, that defined A Thousand Mad Things musical foundation.

Hearing the likes of Tears For Fears, unrecognised by his peers, he remembers feeling like he’d discovered something uniquely his. Artists like Depeche Mode and Soft Cell, who spun darkness into beauty and sing-along anthems, mirrored the chaos of his own inner world. “As a kid, I was cocky and proud, yet full of self-loathing,” he recalls. “I thrived on the drama I created and I guess I still do.”

Across the five tracks of this striking debut release, his resonant, theatrical voice drives songs rooted in adolescent longings, sexual awakenings, and emotional turbulence.

Lead single “Wide Awake” surges from tense pulses to a soaring release, wrestling with insomnia and the pressure to stay composed when life feels anything but. “Local Guys” casts a wry yet wistful eye at unreturned desires, while “She’s On The Run” chronicles a brilliant friend tangled in chaos. Melodrama is the project’s lifeblood, turning personal pain into something playful, even transcendent, an approach that’s already earned him a support slot for The Human League.

“Darkness is real, but I can’t stay there. Even in pain, I want there to be layers of humor, drama, and beauty. That’s how I try to approach life.”