Ryan Hemsworth handed a track steeped in old Three 6 Mafia tape grain and gritty '90s UK rave texture to Illuminati Hotties' Sarah Tudzin. Even he thought the choice was a little strange—logically, she should've gotten something closer to her own style, but instead he threw her the least "her" card in the deck. That decision ended up encapsulating the whole collaborative logic behind his new album *Numbskull*.
This marks the Canadian producer's first full-length album since 2018's *Elsewhere*, and his debut release under Topshelf Records, arriving October 21. The lead single "One Step" is out now, blending Southern rap, UK hardcore, and punk. Hemsworth says the track started from an old Three 6 Mafia tape, layered with some rough '90s UK rave texture: "I figured this would probably only work with rappers on it."
Instead, he reached out to Tudzin—a friend he'd originally filed under "should get her own kind of song"—and she said yes without hesitation. Hemsworth says that's when he realized the collaborative approach behind *Numbskull* basically boiled down to "only give people the weird card."
The album swings between trip-hop, electroclash, hyperpop, and rave, with a guest list spanning just as wide a spectrum: Tegan and Sara, Nana Lourdes, Allie, and MSpaint each contribute a track. Tracklist below:
01 Vortex
02 One Step
03 I Missed You More (ft. Nana Lourdes)
04 Toy
05 No One Else (ft. MSpaint)
06 Never Learned (ft. Tegan and Sara)
07 Atypical (ft. Allie)
08 Winter Spring
09 A Display of Emotion
10 Breed
11 Break
12 Shifting and Turning
Hemsworth hasn't announced a *Numbskull* tour of his own yet, but he'll be joining George Clanton's shows as a guest in November.
