Walking Papers are anxiously looking ahead to early 2021 for a new album and getting the ball rolling today with the first song from their upcoming third release. You can hear and watch the video for "What Did You Expect?" below.

Principal members Jefferson Angell and Benjamin Anderson lead the way on the third album, which will be titled The Light Below and is on schedule for a January 2021 release via Carry On Music. Drummer Will Andrews and saxophone player Gregor Lothian join them on "What Did You Expect?"

The new song arrives with a darkly sinister vibe, with Angell letting his bluesy vocal and story revealing lyrics hover over the backdrop of a steadily dark guitar line and distinctive haunting keys. "Heaven knows, I never promised to be an angel / I suppose I needed someone to protect / When you chose to give the universe an ultimatum / Cause there's gonna come a day ... what did you expect?," sings Angell in the chorus.

“Songs write themselves really. I feel more like a scientist running around in the dark wearing a tin foil hat hoping to get struck by lightning than a craftsman. I leave my self open to the experience,” says Angell, adding, “Not all songs arrive knowing what they are about and as a writer one is left operating on faith. 'What Did You Expect’ was built from the line, ‘I never promised to be an angel.' The song is still speaking to me but at the moment I believe it’s an antihero’s request for empathy.”

The video helps paint a picture as well, with the band's members shot mostly in closeups while the camera work plays with shadows and silhouettes against a dimly lit red-hued backdrop.

Stay tuned for more from Walking Papers in the lead up to their 2021 album, The Light Below. In the meanwhile, look for "What Did You Expect" via the platform of your choosing right here.

Walking Papers, "What Did You Expect?"

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