Last year, the Canadian three-piece Braids released one of the best albums of 2015, Deep in the Iris. A subtly bruising synth-pop masterpiece that has found permanent residence on the office stereo. As a follow-up, Braids have just announced a new EP, named after its title track ‘Companion’, written at the same time as Deep in the Iris, but finished later in the year.

The 19 minute, four-track EP will be released on May 20th and as a taster, here’s the newly released video to ‘Companion’.

It’s heart-stopping stuff made all the more powerful after you read Braids’ Raphaelle Standell-Preston’s recent essay on Pitchfork, Reclamation Through A Microphone, in which she details her own experiences with sexual abuse and the empowerment she found through writing the track ‘Miniskirt’. The lyrics to ‘Companion’ directly reflect this experience, and both the song and the essay are things you need to hear. Seriously. Not in that awful patronising “This Is Everything!” way, but in the “if you read this, it might help you” way.

Communion is out May 20th on Arbutus Records. You can pre-order it here. They’re also coming to the UK for a tour in June, and Braids will be playing the Pickle Factory, Bethnal Green on 23/06.

17/06 – The Hug & Pint – Glasgow, UK – Tickets

18/06 – Soup Kitchen – Manchester, UK – Tickets

19/06 – O2 Academy – Oxford, UK – Tickets

21/06 – Patterns – Brighton, UK – Tickets

22/06 – Start The Bus – Bristol, UK – Tickets

23/06 – Pickle Factory – London, UK – Tickets

26/06 – Glastonbury Festival – Pilton, UK – Tickets

27/06 – Arts Centre – Norwich, UK – Tickets