[Cover photo credit to Izze Thompson]

New Orleans-born Rock band Pope will be releasing their first album in over eight years, BFM, on April 30, 2026, via Houston’s Rite Field Records. Their new track “Make You Feel” is out now, channeling “frustration and grief” and “navigating loss.”

It ends with audio from “from a legendary show hosted by our lost friend,” according to bandleader Matt Seferian. The sample “plays like an allegory for both the shock that grief can bring and the legacy that a person can leave.” 

Sefarian explains:

‘Make You Feel’ is really two feelings in one song. Written when I was in the shock of the sudden loss of a long-time friend. It was so fast and so confusing that I was having a hard time processing it through my normal channels or past experiences with grief. It’s also about community to me; how people can be so entrenched in your present and past lives.

BFM marks Pope’s first album since their 2017 album, True Talent Champion. The upcoming record is a “homecoming”, tracing the band’s journey from their Houston beginnings to the community that shaped them in New Orleans.

It is described as:

Opening with cycles of stagnation and self-doubt, the record gradually turns toward connection, resilience, and release, letting each song feel like a response to the last.

Over the past decade, Pope has shared the stage with bands like They Are Gutting A Body of Water, Alex G, MJ Lenderman, Mitski, Wednesday, Momma, and many more.

Next week, Pope will play a hometown show at Saturn Bar in New Orleans, LA, with bloodsports, The Convenience and Wesley Wolffe on March 18, 2026. More shows will be announced soon.