Drink The Sea release ‘Big Dirty,’ a brooding, swaggering track that reveals the band’s most powerful and uncompromising side. Described by the group in just three evocative words—“Shakedown. Breathless. Revolution.”—the song drives Drink The Sea into compelling new territory while remaining rooted in the psychedelic, cinematic soundscapes that have become their hallmark.
The band explain:
“‘Big Dirty’ is the opening track to the third album from the songwriting supergroup, Drink The Sea. The song was recorded in Joshua Tree, CA at the legendary studio, Rancho De La Luna, where desert rock was born in the late 1980s. Sung by London-born singer Duke Garwood, who collaborated with Mark Lanegan at the Rancho studio years earlier, ‘Big Dirty’ harkens back to the bluesier origins of Drink The Sea’s band members: Peter Buck (R.E.M.), Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees), Alain Johannes (QOTSA and PJ Harvey) and Duke Garwood himself. It is a heavier and darker sounding song than anything Drink The Sea has done on their previous two albums, but it burns with the same intensity.”
That intensity has always been at the heart of Drink The Sea.
Featuring Peter Buck (R.E.M.), Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees, Mad Season), Alain Johannes (Eleven, Queens of the Stone Age, PJ Harvey), acclaimed British songwriter Duke Garwood, and percussionist Lisette Garcia, the group have forged an identity built on fearless collaboration, restless creativity and an instinctive musical chemistry.
Drink The Sea III continues that evolution.
Written and recorded between October 2025 and April 2026, the album became a musical passport spanning continents. Initial sessions began at Barrett Martin’s Sunyata Sound in Olympia, Washington, before moving to Los Lobos Studios in Pichilemu, Chile, Da Pa Virada Studios in São Paulo, Brazil, and finally Rancho De La Luna in Joshua Tree.
Produced by Martin and Johannes, Drink The Sea III expands the band’s sonic landscape, blending haunting melodies, cinematic arrangements, hypnotic rhythms and raw blues power into their most adventurous collection yet.
The album’s release coincides with Drink The Sea’s second world tour, taking the band across the western United States before returning to Europe and the UK for an even more ambitious run than their acclaimed 2025 tour. Their headline shows—stretching close to two-and-a-half hours—combine music from across the band’s catalogue with specially commissioned films by award-winning filmmaker Tad Fettig, creating a fully immersive live experience.
Drink The Sea III captures a band continuing to push forward—musically, creatively and geographically. If “Big Dirty” is the first glimpse of that journey, it arrives with thunderous riffs, desert heat and the unmistakable sound of five musicians still discovering new ground together.
Drink The Sea III follows on October 2nd, 2026 via Sunyata Records / Sony Orchard Digital Music.
CD buy link: https://drinktheseamusic.com/music-store/
LP buy link: https://shop.echobase.com/products/drink-the-sea-drink-the-sea-iii
Tickets for all shows are on sale now through the venue websites, as well as the Bands In Town links found on the Drink The Sea website (https://drinktheseamusic.com/) and their various social media pages.
Bands In Town link https://www.bandsintown.com/a/15601342-drink-the-sea
Drink The Sea UK shows
September
30th Cardiff The Gate
October
1st Manchester Band On The Wall
2nd London Islington Assembly Hall
3rd Brighton Chalk
