Nottingham post-punk quartet Do Nothing have released “Act Natural,” the second single from their anticipated second studio album, Friend World, set for release on November 6th via Submarine Cat Records. Combining phaser-drenched guitars with a rubbery Logic-plugin clavinet, the track delivers a swaggering, funk-leaning earworm that channels an immediate sense of unhinged energy.
Lyrically, “Act Natural” examines the creeping habit of running on autopilot, offsetting its themes of human disengagement with one of the band’s most outwardly brash arrangements to date. The band shared how the song came together:
Act Natural was pretty fun to write and record, cause it’s a bit more outwardly brash or blatant than we often go. There’s a big goofy drum fill in there that we all had a good laugh about in the studio. Also, I’m pretty sure the main keys part is just the Clavinet plugin that comes free with Logic. Lyrically, it’s sort of about running on auto-pilot and not doing anything that makes you feel like a human, which is a regrettably easy habit to slip into.
The track follows lead single “Stars” and marks the latest preview from Friend World, their first full-length effort since 2023’s debut Snake Sideways. Produced by Louis Milburn of Folly Group at Nottingham’s JT Soar studio, the upcoming 11-track LP finds the group shedding the pressure of expectations in favour of synth flourishes, unexpected genre shifts, and playfulness. Drawing thematic inspiration from novelist Elizabeth Smart and comedian Andy Kaufman’s deliberately alienating performance art, the album balances darkness, introversion, and self-deprecation with face-value optimism.
