Although they formed back in 2023, rising New York-based electronic music trio Public Circuit — Ethan Beaumont (vocals), Sean Holloway (drums) and Nelson Fisher (electronics) — exploded into the scene with last year’s full-length debut, Lamb, which they supported with sold-out shows across 30 states, including a run of the domestic festival circuit with sets at New Colossus Festival, Hopscotch and MACROCK. Building upon a growing profile, the trio’s highly anticipated sophomore album Modern Church is slated for a September 12, 2025 release through à La Carte Records.
Modern Church reportedly sees the New York-based trio dismantling and reassembling post-punk with surgical precision. The pretense of retro revivalism is swapped out for something much sharper, darker — and entirely their own. Sonically rooted in the trio’s newfound sense of collaboration between each other, the album’s material features angular electronic instrumentation and raw percussive rhythms bathed with the high gloss ache of sophsitipop.
Thematically, the material is overtly religious. But it’s used as an analogically tool to explore sexual identity, the fleeting faith of society and the illicit repercussions of unresolved trauma. And much like its immediate predecessor, the new album continues a run of material deeply influenced by New York’s constant feed of noise and relentless energy.
Modern Church‘s second and latest single “To The Grave” sees the rising New York trio pairing twinkling synths with relentlessly driving rhythmic pulse in a way that reminds me a bit of Information Society’s “What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy)” and Violator-era Depeche Mode while rooted in a deeply neurotic and unresolved tension — and a deep seated fear to live in one’s truth.
“Life is frail – Many people live a life where they never fully resolve trauma, hatred, etc., and, therefore, take it to the grave with them,” the members of Public Circuit explain. “Whether it be childhood trauma, gender expression / exploration, or failed romances; this song is inspired by moments left unresolved or, otherwise, unspoken.”
Shot on grainy VHS by Nara Avakian and edited by the band’s Ethan Biamont, the accompanying video for “To The Grave” follows the members of the band as they dig a grave and then bury a body in the woods — a secret that has to be kept until death.