Róisín Murphy revealed she will release a new album after an eight-year hiatus. Hairless Toys will drop on May 11th worldwide except in Australia, for which the project will come out on May 8th. The first song from the album, “Gone Fishing,” was inspired by the documentary, Paris Is Burning. “This song was written after I watched the documentary film ‘Paris Is Watching,’ having read an article which referenced it in a discussion about House music’s origin in black, gay culture,” Murphy said in a statement (via Pitchfork). The singer said she was deeply moved by the film, which is about outcasts who try to fit into mainstream society. “The film is about outcasts who never fit into mainstream society and how they created a safe place in the drag Ball scene of New York in the 1980s,” Murphy explained in her statement.
The singer was so inspired by the bravery of these young men, and she envisioned “Gone Fishing” as the theme song for the Broadway musical version for the film. “The making of one’s world, a safer world and the creation of a new, better family in music or youth culture is a theme I touch upon elsewhere on my album Hairless Toys,” the singer stated. The song titles on the Hairless Toys album are also very telling of the film’s inspiring message. “Evil Eyes,” “Uninvited Guest,” and “Exile” are some of the song titles that send a very strong message.
Murphy is most-known as being half of the duo, Moloko. The electro pop duo disbanded in 2002, after Murphy and Mark Brydon‘s love relationship also ended. The singer released her first solo album, Ruby Blue, in 2005. The album did not chart on the US Billboard 200, but it faired well in other countries. Its best charting was a Number 7 position on the music charts in Belgium. The singer’s sophomore debut entitled Overpowered was dropped two years later. The project was more successful than her first album, and it reached Number 20 on the UK Albums chart. Unfortunately, the project was not released in the US because of financial issues with Murphy’s record label.
The singer is heading on a promotional tour for her album Hairless Toys in a few months. Murphy’s 10-date tour will start on May 16th in London at Roundhouse. She will also travel to the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain, and Ireland. Murphy will wrap her mini-tour at the UK music festival Bestival in England on September 13th. The track listing for Hairless Toys is as follow: “Gone Fishing,” “Evil Eyes,” “Exploitation,” “Uninvited Guest,” “Exile,” “House of Glass,” “Hairless Toys (Gotta Hurt),” and “Unputdownable.”