Every Single Muscle
| Every Single Muscle | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 29 May 2026 | |||
| Studios | Rat Trap Studios, Cardiff | |||
| Genre | Garage punk | |||
| Length | 41:10 | |||
| Label | Sub Pop | |||
| Producer | Tom Rees | |||
| The Bug Club chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Every Single Muscle | ||||
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Every Single Muscle is a studio album by the Welsh indie rock band the Bug Club. It was released on 29 May 2026 through Sub Pop.[1] The album was produced and mixed by Tom Rees at Rat Trap Studios in Cardiff and mastered by Mikey Young.[2] It reached number 24 on the Official Independent Albums Chart and number 11 on the Official Independent Album Breakers Chart in the United Kingdom.[3]
The album was announced in February 2026 with the single "Watching the Omnibus", followed by "Yours (If You Want Me)" in March and "A Good Day for Dying" in April.[4][5][6] Every Single Muscle received generally positive reviews from critics, who described it as a short-song rock album with garage-punk foundations and mid-album turns toward twee pop and post-punk, with lyrics repeatedly concerned with bodies and self-consciousness.[7][8]
Background and release
The Bug Club signed to Sub Pop before releasing On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System in 2024, followed by Very Human Features in 2025.[1]
On 18 February 2026, the band announced Every Single Muscle and released "Watching the Omnibus" as its lead single.[4] "Yours (If You Want Me)" followed on 25 March.[5] On 29 April, Sub Pop released "A Good Day for Dying" as another single from the album.[6] The album was released on 29 May 2026 on CD, LP, and digital services.[2] Sub Pop listed a limited Loser Edition vinyl pressing in opaque blue in North America and blue vinyl in the United Kingdom and European Union.[2] Ross Willmett illustrated the cover art.[2]
Music and lyrics
Every Single Muscle contains 18 tracks and has a running time of 41 minutes and 10 seconds.[9] Sub Pop described the record as an album of garage-punk songs and wrote that many tracks run under two minutes.[1] Billie Estrine of the Skinny wrote that the album emphasizes a more punk-directed form of the band's guitar music, while Pitchfork's Alex Robert Ross described its middle section as built from short bursts of twee pop and post-punk.[8][7]
Ross wrote that the album is not presented as a concept album, but that its focus on the human body recurs through the songs and artwork.[7] Sub Pop's album description similarly framed the record around the human form and a detached, comic view of being a person.[1] Estrine wrote that Sam Willmett and Tilly Harris's lyrics remain direct even as the band's tempos and guitar parts become more unsettled.[8]
Jiffy Marx of Scene Point Blank compared the album's rock style to Guided by Voices and a less psychedelic version of the Velvet Underground, and singled out the contrast between Willmett and Harris's vocals as a central part of the band's sound.[10] Stereogum's Chris DeVille described "Yours (If You Want Me)" as a harmonised rock song that followed the album's February lead single.[5]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Pitchfork | 7.2/10[7] |
| The Skinny |   [8] |
| Spectrum Culture |  [11] |
Estrine gave Every Single Muscle four stars out of five in the Skinny, writing that the band's lyrical directness remained present in its quicker and more abrasive songs.[8] In Treble, Elliot Burr described the album as a body-themed set of garage rock songs and highlighted the band's rapid pacing and dense hooks.[12]
Writing for Pitchfork, Ross focused on the album's body imagery and wrote that the band's direct lyrical approach was partly a misdirection from underlying themes of vulnerability, loneliness, and mortality.[7] Ross identified "Yours (If You Want Me)" as the album's standout track, describing it as a duet that gives the record an emotional point of connection after its more awkward and comic material.[7]
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Sam Willmett; all music is composed by Sam Willmett and Tilly Harris.[13]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Miss Wales 2012" | 1:29 |
| 2. | "A Good Day for Dying" | 3:03 |
| 3. | "Make It Count" | 2:44 |
| 4. | "Cut to Black" | 1:30 |
| 5. | "Full Range of Motion" | 1:32 |
| 6. | "Pretty as a Magazine" | 2:18 |
| 7. | "Look Like Me" | 2:26 |
| 8. | "How Can We Be Friends" | 1:35 |
| 9. | "Every Single Muscle" | 1:59 |
| 10. | "Shiny and Wet" | 4:08 |
| 11. | "Semi-Automatic" | 1:53 |
| 12. | "In My Short Life" | 1:40 |
| 13. | "Watching the Omnibus" | 1:19 |
| 14. | "It's Our Manager David" | 2:12 |
| 15. | "Yours (If You Want Me)" | 2:27 |
| 16. | "All My Clothes Fell Off" | 2:42 |
| 17. | "Third Best Friend" | 3:36 |
| 18. | "My Uncle Warren Drives a Passat" | 2:37 |
| Total length: | 41:10 | |
Personnel
Credits are adapted from Tidal.[13]
The Bug Club
- Sam Willmett – guitar, vocals, arrangement
- Tilly Harris – bass guitar, vocals, arrangement
Additional contributors
- Tom Rees – drums, production, engineering, mixing
- Mikey Young – mastering
- Ross Willmett – artwork
Charts
Chart positions are from Official Charts.[3]
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Scottish Albums (OCC) | 97 |
| UK Album Sales (OCC) | 76 |
| UK Album Downloads (OCC) | 63 |
| UK Physical Albums (OCC) | 82 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC) | 24 |
| UK Independent Album Breakers (OCC) | 11 |
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Every Single Muscle by The Bug Club on Sub Pop Records". Sub Pop. Archived from the original on 11 March 2026. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "The Bug Club's Every Single Muscle Is Out Today". Sub Pop. 29 May 2026. Archived from the original on 31 May 2026. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
- 1 2 "Every Single Muscle". Official Charts. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
- 1 2 Jones, Abby (18 February 2026). "The Bug Club Announce New Album Every Single Muscle: Hear 'Watching The Omnibus'". Stereogum. Archived from the original on 13 April 2026. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 DeVille, Chris (25 March 2026). "The Bug Club - 'Yours (If You Want Me)'". Stereogum. Archived from the original on 26 March 2026. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
- 1 2 "Listen to The Bug Club's New Single "A Good Day For Dying"". Sub Pop. 29 April 2026. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ross, Alex Robert (8 June 2026). "The Bug Club: Every Single Muscle Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Estrine, Billie (26 May 2026). "The Bug Club - Every Single Muscle: album review". The Skinny. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
- ↑ "Bug Club: Every Single Muscle Tracks & Reviews". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
- ↑ Marx, Jiffy (14 June 2026). "The Bug Club - Every Single Muscle". Scene Point Blank. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
- ↑ Cooper, Bill (2 June 2026). "The Bug Club: Every Single Muscle". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
- ↑ Burr, Elliot (26 May 2026). "The Bug Club: Every Single Muscle". Treble. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
- 1 2 "Every Single Muscle / The Bug Club / Credits". Tidal. Retrieved 11 July 2026.