Math-pop innovators Wot Gorilla? today announce that their new album ‘Stay Home’ will be released 20th Feb 2026 via Drongo Records / Ripcord Records. The announcement comes alongside the unveiling of the record’s first single ‘Young Man’s Game’.
Vocalist and guitarist Mat Haigh says: “‘Young Man’s Game’ explores the experience of still playing in a band as an older person, and the insecurities that come with that. It also reflects on how being a ‘front man’ has never come naturally to me, and the challenges I’ve faced with negative, and sometimes very personal, feedback. Performing live has always been tough—I used to struggle so much that I couldn’t even look at the audience, and I still catch myself doing that sometimes.
These days, I tend to avoid reading reviews altogether—whether they’re positive or negative. I’ve found that any kind of feedback, even praise, can distort how I view the music and make me second-guess myself. It’s easy to lose sight of your own instincts when you start weighing your work against other people’s opinions. I try to stay grounded in the belief that if I’m happy with what we’ve created, that’s enough – and I genuinely love every one of our songs.
Musically, this one is one of the more manic songs on the album. I feel like it covers all sides of us as a band. It’s also the first song we wrote where Jonny introduced some lovely sax playing, which is one of my personal highlights on the album.
They say being in a band is a young man’s game—and that’s definitely true in a lot of ways. But music continues to be a driving force for us, and as long as we have something worth sharing, we’ll keep doing what we love.”
‘Stay Home’ marks a sharp, self-produced evolution for Wot Gorilla? It was recorded entirely by the band, with mastering by Joe Gibb (digital) and Pete Maher (vinyl). The band’s unique brand of math-rock is louder, leaner and more precise than ever, incorporating post-hardcore intensity and pop sensibility with new warmth and bite. “Wot Gorilla? have always thrived on tension — between precision and chaos, melody and math,” says Haigh. “Stay Home is the sound of us reconnecting with why we started this band in the first place.” The album distills over a decade of angular riffs, complex rhythms and melodic urgency into their most cohesive statement yet.
The process of creating ‘Stay Home’ was slow and steady, to say the least. Drums were laid down over two intense days at Hope Mill Studio in Manchester — but only after weeks of painstaking click-track mapping and tempo-change planning, ensuring every twist and technical left-turn landed exactly where it needed to. From there, the rest of the album took shape in far less conventional surroundings: guitars, bass, vocals and experimentation were tracked between Grant’s house and the band’s rehearsal space over nearly three years. Some of the music dates back to before the pandemic, which meant the gradual, DIY recording process became a way of rediscovering songs that started life in a different world. The title ‘Stay Home’ — shared with a key track on the record — nods to that isolation period: not just the literal instruction of lockdown, but the inward focus required to rebuild momentum when the scene went silent.
With full control over their sound, Wot Gorilla? weren’t afraid to chase new tones, push arrangements and refine performances until they clicked. That freedom meant technical hurdles, late-night breakthroughs, and the odd existential “What time signature even is this?” moment — but resulted in a record made by Wot Gorilla? stretching every muscle they’ve built since 2009.
Formed in 2009 in Sowerby Bridge, Halifax, Wot Gorilla? have carved out their own corner of the UK’s math and post-hardcore scene with a wiry collision of intricate rhythms, melodic hooks and restless energy. Veterans of Reading & Leeds, 2000trees, ArcTanGent, Live at Leeds and StrangeForms festivals, they’ve shared stages with the likes of Vennart, The Get Up Kids, Delta Sleep, Cursive and Rolo Tomassi, earning a reputation for tight musicianship and dynamic live shows.
With UK tour dates lined up for February and March 2026, ‘Stay Home’ finds Wot Gorilla? sounding more focused, fearless, and formidable than ever.
SEE WOT GORILLA? LIVE:
27-Feb-2026 — The Rainbow, Birmingham
28-Feb-2026 — Voodoo Daddys, Norwich
05-Mar-2026 — The Blind Pig, Sowerby Bridge
06-Mar-2026 — Cafe Kino, Bristol
07-Mar-2026 — The Castle, Luton
WOT GORILLA? ARE:
Mat Haigh – Vocals / Guitar
Grant Beeden Clayton – Guitar / Backing Vocals
Jonny Newman-Hey – Bass / Backing Vocals / Sax
Jason Howard – Drums
CONNECT WITH WOT GORILLA?:
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