Losing a loved one to any drawn-out terminal disease results in a lot of mixed emotions: helplessness, anger, relief, fear, an unfathomable grief. Touché Amoré vocalist Jeremy Bolm lost his mother to cancer, and Stage Four — the band’s upcoming new album — is a powerful document that attempts to navigate that loss and come to terms with a relationship and person that have now ceased to exist. In a lot of ways, the album reminds me of Japanese Breakfast’s Psychopomp, another album from this year that dealt with a similar loss.

“Displacement” in particular has echoes of “In Heaven,” as both songs explore what happens when the person you loved believed in a higher power, but you can’t take the same leap of faith to believe in a god that would cause such pain. Michelle Zauner rendered that disconnect into gauzy indie-pop, while Bolm opts for tempered aggression. “You died at 69 with a body full of cancer,” he starts off. “I asked your god, ‘How could you?’/ But never heard an answer.”

“The word ‘Displacement’ in Greek is Metastasis, which is the term used when cancer has spread from one organ to another. Having “dis” in the title felt like a good head nod to Discharge, Disfear, Disclose, etc. as this song has a strong D-beat presence,” Bolm explains of the song’s origins. “Most of my lyrics are autobiographical, but this one feels more like stating facts than word play. It touches on my faith or lack thereof in the afterlife. How for her sake I want to believe in heaven because it’s what she deserves.” Listen below.

Tour Dates:
08/08 San Diego, CA @ Che Cafe
08/09 Flagstaff, AZ @ Green Room *
08/10 Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad *
08/11 Oklahoma City, OK @ 89th Street Collective *
08/12 Memphis, TN @ The Hi-Tone Cafe *
08/13 Atlanta, GA @ Wrecking Ball
08/14 Mobile, AL @ The Merry Widow *
08/15 New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa *
08/17 San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger *
08/18 El Paso, TX @ Tricky Falls *
08/19 Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress *
09/02 Denver, CO @ Riot Fest Denver
09/08 New York, NY @ Terminal 5 #
09/16 Chicago, IL @ Riot Fest Chicago
09/24 Pomona, CA @ Fox Theater Pomona $

* w/ Ceremony, Gouge Away
# w/ Hum, Basement
$ w/ Hum, Balance & Composure

Stage Four is out 9/16 via Epitaph. Pre-order it here.