Mangy Mutt’s debut single, “Souls Who Weep,” arrives as a bold, unfiltered statement from an artist who has carved music out of hardship, poetry, and raw honesty. Released on 14 November 2025, the Newcastle-based songwriter steps into the alt-rock arena with a track that feels both mythic in scale and deeply personal in intent. This isn’t just a first single — it’s a declaration of identity, a sonic banner raised for anyone who’s ever crawled through the darker corners of their own life.
Co-produced with Gareth Hudson, the song immediately establishes Mangy Mutt’s ability to turn struggle into cinematic sound. The guitars crash forward with a gritty confidence, the drums feel like they’re pushing the story uphill, and the vocals carry a weight that can only come from lived experience. You can hear the years of writing poetry, the personal battles, and the emotional scars embedded in the performance. Yet, instead of collapsing under that weight, the track transforms it into momentum.
What truly elevates “Souls Who Weep” is its blend of raw emotion with mythic imagery. Angels clash with demons, captains wander through mist, and inner turmoil becomes a battlefield. The refrain — “They are fighting till the death for the souls who weep” — lands like a rallying cry for anyone navigating cycles of harm or healing. It’s theatrical without losing sincerity, poetic without losing bite.
The influences behind the song read like a map of rock history: the thunder of Led Zeppelin and Metallica, the urgency of Nirvana, the anthemic force of Foo Fighters, and the expansive storytelling of Pink Floyd. Yet there’s also the lyrical introspection of Leonard Cohen, the grit of Springsteen, the shapeshifting artistry of Bowie, and the poetic fire of Dylan. These echoes don’t overshadow the artist — instead, they create a foundation from which Mangy Mutt builds something distinctly his own.
Part of what makes this release so compelling is the story behind its creation. Mangy Mutt began writing the song at home while navigating life as a single parent of two autistic teenage daughters. Those moments — stolen between chaos, responsibility, and exhaustion — gave the song its skeleton. It was later brought to life at Hazy Cozmic Jive Studio in Newcastle, where the collaboration with Hudson added depth and cinematic texture. The contrast between the quiet struggle of its origins and the explosive power of the final recording gives the track an added emotional charge.
For a debut, “Souls Who Weep” stands out because it doesn’t try to play it safe. It’s intense, vulnerable, and unapologetically dramatic. Mangy Mutt presents grief as something worth fighting through and transforms pain into defiance. It’s a war cry, yes — but it’s also a promise. A promise that this artist is stepping into the light with a voice sharpened by experience and a creative vision shaped by resilience.
As Mangy Mutt puts it, “The fight between head and heart is never ending.” With this debut, he turns that fight into something powerful, memorable, and undeniably worth hearing.
Follow MANGY MUTT on