Hercules & Love Affair, the disco-house project led by Andy Butler, is returning next month with the new album Omnion. We’ve heard “Controller,” featuring the Horrors’ Faris Badwan, the title track, featuring Sharon Van Etten, and “Fools Wear Crowns,” sung by Butler himself. And now they’ve shared “Rejoice,” which has vocals from Rouge Mary, one of the rotating cast of characters associated with the group. It’s at once exultant and ominous, a thumping industrial-tinged gospel-dance banger. Listen below.

Rouge Mary shared some thoughts about the song:

The lyrics to “Rejoice” were written in a day. It’s so obvious when you look around, that we all have so many reasons to be sad and we are so used to complaining about sticky situations. So much that we forget the ancient secret. “Rejoice” highlights the importance of gratitude and the power of positive thoughts. “Smile though your heart is aching,” Charlie Chaplin once said. I interpret it in a very powerful way, with a belting voice to symbolize the urgency of the message. I feel this song is like a solution to face problems of all kind. Could it be coffee for the ears? I don’t know, but for sure, it truly is an ode to positivity.

Hercules & Love Affair mastermind Andy Butler also chimed in:

As with this entire record “Rejoice” was born out of taking detours from a traditional “vocal house” record- I picked up the tempo and stumbled onto a bass line that evoked my favorite early industrial tracks from front 242 or cabaret Voltaire- the stomp is one of exuberance and was begging for “vamping” or “riffing” from a singer- something Rouge Mary is great at- the exuberance just pointed to me to the word “Rejoice” so I asked her to bring that message to the song. It’s a message she brings every day to her life so it was exciting to watch her one again share “the keys to the kingdom” !

Omnion is out 9/1 via Big Beat Records. Pre-order it here.

CREDIT: Charles Moriarty