Jamie Lenman has released the gritty new single ‘Not Likely’, which is a feisty, furious and punk-fuelled groove setting the scene for more music to come. The track is only available to stream viaBandcamp, where fans can listen or ‘pay-what-you-want’ to buy. The release is also accompanied by the attitude filled video which you can watchhere.
About the song, Lenman says,“I never intended to retire from music itself, just the machine that surrounds it. I’m always writing and recording, and this new tune is one of my favourites from over the last couple years. I felt like it would be good to come to Arc Tan Gent with some new material instead of playing the same old stuff, so this is a part of that. There’s more where this came from.
“Not Likelywas recorded with a guy called Luke Pickering, who I met through my friends False Advertising – I really liked his work on those records and we had a lot of fun doing this. I wanted to channel early US punk like Fang, like a bunch of kids in a room who don’t really know what they’re doing. That’s why I played everything myself, for that slightly messy vibe.
“Lyrically it’s a very pessimistic piece, similar to my tuneThe Future Is Dead. I don’t usually like to put negative vibes into the air like this, but sometimes that’s just how you feel, and that’s OK.”
Having stepped back from constant touring and releasing to focus on his thriving fan club viaPatreon, ‘Not Likely’ is Lenman’s first taste of new music since 2023’s EPIknowyouknowiknowand 2022’s acclaimed full length albumThe Atheist.
2026 sees a welcomed return from the creative powerhouse, which includes an appearance at Arctangent Festival on Saturday 22ndAugust.