The Empty Page has never been a band for love songs. Across the northern trio’s two albums and three standalone singles, singer Kel’s lyrics have covered subjects as diverse as climate-destroying billionaires, panic attacks, bed rot, nightclub nostalgia, and house cats. So releasing a love song might be a surprise for ardent fans of their barbed art-punk.
But When We Gonna Run? is no ballad. Set in an apocalyptic hellscape (aka 2025), the song is about preparing to get the hell out of here – and fast. An anxious urgency drives it forward from the moment the verse kicks in; the lyrics capture the grief/urgency of fleeing a former home.
Oh, this disease / we are damaged lung / we are fallen trees
No mysteries / we are terminal / we are history
“It’s about clinging to a cinematic ideal of love as the only thing you can believe in, when everything else is crumbling around you,” says Kel, “You’re just waiting for the word from this person you’ve put all your faith into. That tension. That anxiety. Like, are we doing this or what?”
If only you can save me / when we gonna run?
This shoegaze-tinged indie punk banger is the first in a series of single releases for the band, who’s long-awaited second album, Imploding, only came out 18 months ago. “It took so long to finish the damn album that we already had a bunch of new ideas ready to go. With our new drummer, Steve, we were dying to get into a rehearsal room and bash around new ideas.”
Three new tracks were recorded at Nave Studios, a former church in deepest Leeds, with producer Matt Peel (Eagulls/Dream Wife/Bodega). “We’ve long been fans of Matt’s work, so it was great to finally work together. The studio is so cool, and Matt’s references from Radiohead to Smashing Pumpkins to Deftones align perfectly with the songs we’ve been writing”, says Kel.
The artwork is the first in a series featuring fans of the band in their teenage years. Inspired by the DIY punk 7-inches of a pre-Internet world. The images feel both nostalgic and current.
When We Gonna Run? – out Wednesday 26 November 2025
https://kycker.ffm.to/whenwegonnarun
Upcoming Gigs:
Thurs 27 Nov 2025 – The Star and Garter – Manchester (single launch)
Weds 31 Dec 2025 – Cinemac Live – Macclesfield (NYE gig w Virginmarys)
Sat 31 Jan- Brudenell – Leeds (Handfest punk weekender)
