Chicago noise-rock band FACS impressed us with last year’s Void Moments, and they’re already returning with another new album. Present Tense is out in May, and they began rolling it out with first single “Strawberry Cough,” a heavy swirl of electronic textures and tactile guitar noise. Today they’re back with the tense and hard-hitting “General Public.”

“‘Strawberry Cough’ is about the world of interiors, and the line between where influences come together or split off,” explains guitarist Brian Case. “Going into record stores and having conversations with strangers, learning about new sounds, and finding something I’ve been looking for has been sorely missed over the last year. Seeing records spread out all over the house while working on Present Tense made me wonder how these different eras and sounds found their way into our music.”

“I spent a lot of time trying to find the visual / emotional connections between seemingly unrelated works, and walking that back into my subconscious when writing,” continues Case, who also produced the song’s video. “Sometimes the video is a visualization of the words or music, and sometimes it’s just some random themes you notice while refiling your record collection.”

As for “General Public,” Case likens it to Gang Of Four: “The song is about roles, perceived and assumed, and how we translate that with each other,” he wrote in a statement to Paste. “This song fell out complete. Andy Gill had recently died and we were channeling Gang Of Four Solid Gold era, where it feels like everyone is playing a different song together.”

Hear both new songs below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “XOUT”
02 “Strawberry Cough”
03 “Alone Without”
04 “General Public”
05 “How To See In The Dark”
06 “Present Tense”
07 “Mirrored”

Present Tense is out 5/21 on Trouble In Mind. Pre-order it here.