Following their recent single Narrows, heavy rock band Spirit Mother have released Stranger, You Are. The track is the second single from their upcoming third studio album, Thistle, which is scheduled for release on September 4th via Sound Of Liberation Records.

In support of the new album, Spirit Mother have also announced a European tour across September and October.

Thistle was completely written, recorded, and produced by the band in the secluded attic of a century-old high desert cabin in Burns, Oregon. This isolation directly influenced the structural contrast of Stranger, You Are, which shifts between a dense, multi-instrumental arrangement and minimalist vocal passages. The single is paired with an introductory piece titled Ephemeral, a live, single-microphone improvisation based on the track’s core themes.

The band details the recording process and thematic concept:

“Stranger, You Are is a reckoning: within and without. An exploration of self and surroundings. What are the mechanisms that help you navigate your existence? Can you trust them? Sonically, Stranger, You Are encompasses the spectrum of sounds found in Thistle: from a wall of sound to a single raw instrument or voice. In keeping with this theme of self-exploration, it is paired with its intro Ephemeral, which is an improvisation on the song’s central themes. Recorded live in the room together on one microphone, while violins each had DI signals feeding into amps and pedals. The result is an intimate, cavernous deconstruction of our second single.”

Stranger, You Are is available now on all major digital music platforms. Complete European tour routing and dates can be found below.

Thistle Track Listing:

1. Dog Machine

2. Violent Son

3. Coat Of Arms

4. Narrows

5. Prelude

6. Locomotive Breath

7. Good Faith

8. Crux

9. Ephemeral

10. Stranger, You Are

11. Odetta

12. Thistle

13. Transient

SPIRIT MOTHER European Tour 2026:

Sep 25 Dortmund, DE – Musiktheater Piano
Sep 26 Leeuwarden, NL – Into The Void Festival
Sep 30 Bielefeld, DE – Forum Bielefeld
Oct 01 Karlsruhe, DE – PsyKA Festival
Oct 02 Pratteln, CH – Up In Smoke Festival
Oct 03 Konstanz, DE – Kulturladen
Oct 07 Ljubljana, SI – Channel Zero
Oct 08 Passau, DE – Zauberberg
Oct 09 Nürnberg, DE – MUZ – Musikzentrale Nürnberg e.V.
Oct 10 München, DE – Keep It Low Festival
Oct 11 Erfurt, DE – Bandhaus Erfurt
Oct 13 Berlin, DE – Neue Zukunft
Oct 15 Aalborg, DK – 1000 Fryd
Oct 16 Kiel, DE – Schaubude