Twin Peaks co-creator David Lynch and composer Angelo Badalamenti created Thought Gang a jarring and original musical release, set to drop November 2 via Sacred Bones. Lynch and Badalamenti recorded the songs throughout the early 90s, with some tracks included in the Fire Walk With Me soundtrack, or in Twin Peaks: The Return and other Lynch projects throughout the years.

Thought Gang is 12 tracks long and features instrumentation by bassist Reggie Hamilton and others. “[Lynch] said imagine you’re a chicken with your head cut off running around with a thousand bennies shoved down your throat,” Hamilton recalled about Lynch’s improvisational directions in a statement.

According to Lynch, listeners can expect to hear “Modern Music” on this record; “Woodcutters From Fiery Ship” the song starts out with a nervous drum set which crescendos into an urgent news reading over a scratchy background. You have to work your ears from both sides, one with the instrumentals and the other with the story telling.

The song builds up using lyrics that build increasing anxiety, as the storyteller forms the bizarre story as if a broadcaster is sharing some taboo, yet alarming news over some scratchy airwaves. Nonetheless, the song can make the hair on your neck stand up, as a story unfolds about a rather disturbed peeping Tom (so to speak) getting a glimpse of his nude neighbor, who much to his dismay – never returns.

David Lynch grew up in Missoula, Montana and studied painting at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts before he decided to move to Los Angeles and start creating films. He has been described by The Guardian as “the most important director of this era”, with his films Mulholland Drive, Blue Velvet and TV series Twin Peaks.

He had a modest beginning with his wife, living in a high crime area in Philadelphia in the early days of his career. He described it, “We lived cheap, but the city was full of fear. A kid was shot to death down the street … We were robbed twice, had windows shot out and a car stolen. The house was first broken into only three days after we moved in … The feeling was so close to extreme danger, and the fear was so intense. There was violence and hate and filth. But the biggest influence in my whole life was that city.”

Thought Gang will be released on CD, vinyl, and digitally via Sacred Bones on November 2. See the Thought Gang artwork and tracklist below.

Thought Gang:

01  Stalin Revisited
02  Logic and Common Sense
03  One Dog Bark
04  Woodcutters From Fiery Ships
05  A Real Indication
06  Jack Pains It Red
07  A Meaningless Conversation
08  Frank 2000 Prelude
09  Multi-Tempo Wind Boogie
10  The Black Dog Runs at Night
11  Frank 2000
12  Summer Night Noise