Three years ago, almost to the day, the great LA post-hardcore band Touché Amoré released Stage Four, an absolute gut-ripper of an album. On that LP, frontman Jeremy Bolm wrote about watching cancer kill his mother. It was heavy. After putting something like that out into the world, you can understand why a band might want to take a breath before going on. And Touché Amoré, for the most part, have been quiet lately. But now they’re back.

Recently, Bolm has kept himself busy with non-Touché Amoré matters; his hardcore band Hesitation Wounds released their album Chicanery just a couple of weeks ago. But now Touché Amoré have returned with a new single called “Deflector.” Right now, it’s just a loose non-album song, like the band’s 2018 jam “Green.” But right now, Deafheaven are gearing up for a couple of big tours. First, they’ll cross Europe with Deafheaven and Portrayal Of Guilt. Then they’ll hit North America with La Dispute and Empath. (Those shows sound great!) An album seems imminent.

Touché Amoré recorded “Deflector” with notorious producer Ross Robinson. Robinson is mostly known for working with nü-metal stars like Limp Bizkit and Korn, but he’s also produced classic hardcore-adjacent albums from bands like At The Drive-In and the Blood Brothers. And “Deflector” sounds huge, its wiry clangor slowing down and making room for some big riffs and a big chorus. In the emotionally intense lyrics, Bolm describes himself as “a last responder to my own self-interest.” Listen to it below.

Of “Deflector,” Jeremy Bolm says:

This time around, we need to take a chance with the unfamiliar. Someone who would take us out of our comfort zone. Enter Ross Robinson. A man who knows no comfort zone. I followed his career all through my youth to being a young adult. When we returned from our recent Midwest tour, we entered the studio to record a song with Ross and see if there was chemistry.

“Deflector” is out now on the streaming services, and it’ll be on a new 7″ single with “Green,” which you can order here.