The Rebirth of Working Men’s Club: Why Their Atticus Ross-Produced Single “Devout” Changes Everything

If you’ve been tracking the trajectory of Working Men’s Club over the past few years, you already know they aren’t a band content with standing still. Back in 2020, Sydney Minsky-Sargeant and his shifting lineup hit the post-punk revival scene like a lightning bolt with their self-titled debut album. It was raw, fiercely Yorkshire, and dripping with jagged, synth-driven dance-punk energy. Then came 2022’s Fear Fear, a record that leaned heavily into club culture, dark electronics, and a glossier, moodier polish.

Following Fear Fear, things quieted down—at least outwardly. Minsky-Sargeant kept busy by diving inward, dropping a striking acoustic-leaning solo record titled Lunga, and collaborating on the hallucinatory Demise Of Love EP with Daniel Avery and James Greenwood’s Ghost Culture. Fans wondered where the main project would go next. Would they double down on singer-songwriter introspection, or return to the synthesizers?

The answer arrived with a vengeance via “Devout”. Marking their official signing to indie heavyweight Domino Records, “Devout” isn’t just a comeback track—it’s a total reimagining of what Working Men’s Club can be. And to pull it off, Minsky-Sargeant brought in some serious heavyweight muscle: none other than Atticus Ross.

A Heavyweight Partnership: Working Men’s Club Meets Nine Inch Nails

Let’s talk about that production credit for a second, because it’s a massive deal. “Devout” was co-produced by Minsky-Sargeant and Atticus Ross, the Oscar- and Grammy-winning composer best known as Trent Reznor’s primary creative partner in Nine Inch Nails, as well as an acclaimed film score mastermind behind massive cinematic soundscapes.

When you hear the track for the first time, Ross’s fingerprints are all over it, yet it never loses the frantic DNA of a Working Men’s Club song. There is a palpable, industrial-grade weight to the production. The track builds around a percolating, throbbing electronic bassline that feels heavily indebted to the stark, cinematic dread of NIN, mixed with the motorik drive of classic New Order and the abrasive edge of Factory Floor.

It’s darker, heavier, and far more uncompromising than anything they’ve put out before. It ditches any lingering notions of cheerful indie-disco in favor of a towering, menacing wall of sound that begs to be played on a massive club sound system with the bass turned all the way up.

Lyrical Vulnerability Underneath the Industrial Pulse

For all its synthetic grit and driving momentum, “Devout” also signals a maturation in how Minsky-Sargeant approaches songwriting. Working Men’s Club has always specialized in abstract, poetic lyrics that feel like cryptic dispatches from a bleak post-industrial landscape.

On “Devout,” those abstract elements remain, but they are filtered through an unexpected lens of emotional vulnerability. There is a raw, confession-like weight to the delivery. It retains the razor-sharp urgency of their earlier work, but instead of lashing out at the world with pure teenage/early-twenties angst, there is a sense of catharsis—a euphoric release found on the other side of burnout.

Minsky-Sargeant kept his thoughts on the release concise, noting simply that “Devout always felt like the right song to return with.” He’s right. It doesn’t try to recreate past glories; it burns them down to build something bigger.

The Domino Era: What’s Next for the Band?

Signing to Domino Records puts Working Men’s Club in a very prestigious lineage. Sharing a roster home with heavy hitters like Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, and Hot Chip, the band is stepping into a more international, globally minded phase of their career.

Crucially, “Devout” comes packaged with a striking visual identity that matches its grim, hypnotic audio landscape. The accompanying visualiser was directed by Innerstrings (widely known for their mesmerizing work with Overmono), while the artwork was handled by longtime creative collaborator SJ Hockett. Together, the audio and visual components create an immersive, late-night sensory overload.

Catch Them Live This Autumn

If you want to experience these new industrial soundscapes the way they were meant to be heard, Working Men’s Club have lined up a stellar run of live dates across the UK for late 2026:

• Sŵn Festival (Cardiff)

• Future Days (Birmingham)

• Mutations Festival (Brighton)

• Pitchfork Music Festival London (EartH Hall)

Final Verdict: Is “Devout” Worth the Hype?

In short: absolutely. In a musical climate where so many guitar-adjacent bands fall into safe, repetitive cycles trying to chase their initial viral breakthrough, Working Men’s Club have done the exact opposite. They’ve completely shattered their mold, teamed up with an industrial legend, and delivered a track that is both punishing and deeply hypnotic.

“Devout” isn’t just a great single—it’s a statement of intent. Working Men’s Club are entering their next chapter on their own terms, and the dancefloor will never be the same.