Bright Light Bright Light shares new single ahead of spring tour

Stephen Price

Bright Light Bright Light has announced a run of UK dates this March – including at his former stomping ground in Neath – alongside the release of a brand new single, ‘Cold Sweat, Hot Boys’, featuring Ana Matronic.

Bright Light Bright Light is the long-running pop project of Welsh singer, songwriter and producer Rod Thomas, and he is set to bring his acclaimed live show Not Like All The Other Boys across the Atlantic from his home in the States.

Out today (29 January), to kick things off, is his new single featuring Ana Matronic, the former Scissor Sisters vocalist. The single is the first release from his forthcoming duets EP, ‘Duets’, due later this year.

The tour and EP mark 14 years since the release of Bright Light Bright Light’s debut album ‘Make Me Believe in Hope’, celebrating a career defined by sustained success as a fully independent artist.

Over the past decade and a half, Rod has built an international cult following through a steady run of albums, collaborations, tours and cultural moments, from chart-topping dance releases to appearances alongside artists such as Cher, Elton John and Scissor Sisters, all while remaining fiercely self-directed.

Developed over the past two years at New York’s iconic Joe’s Pub, Not Like All The Other Boys is a humorous, cabaret-leaning retrospective that revisits 12–14 songs from across the Bright Light Bright Light catalogue.

Part pop performance, part storytelling, the show offers a warm, conversational look at the moments, collaborations and cultural touchstones that have shaped Rod’s work – somewhere between a greatest hits show and an Edinburgh Fringe-style confessional, with visuals, shifting setlists and a healthy dose of self-aware humour.

Rather than a traditional tour, the show places emphasis on context: the stories behind pivotal songs, the unexpected routes they’ve taken, and the collaborators who have helped bring them to life.

Having recently performed versions of the show at key culturally impactful venues including the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, Rod notes how talking between songs has revealed how little audiences often know about the journeys behind tracks they already love.

Releasing around the tour is the forthcoming EP ‘Duets’, which reimagines previously solo songs as collaborative recordings with artists Rod has worked with across his career.

Like the live show, the EP reflects on the catalogue through the lens of creative community, chosen family and long-standing artistic relationships. More details to be announced in due course.

The EP’s first single, ‘Cold Sweat, Hot Boys’, pairs Bright Light Bright Light with Ana Matronic on a track inspired by one of her DJ sets at Wet Noise in New York. Originally written after a euphoric night on the dancefloor and later appearing as a bonus track on Enjoy Youth, the song has now been fully realised in its final form as a duet.

Ana Matronic shared: “There are maybe three or four people in the entire world who can get me into the studio, no questions asked, no need to hear any demo, and Bright Light Bright Light is one of them.

“Sessions with Rod are always seamless, joyful and galvanizing – I always feel like I belong when I work with him. That joyousness and sense of belonging is exactly what this song is about: those nights on the dance floor that stick with you and become core memories, even if some details of the night remain fuzzy… that this song was inspired by a night on my dance floor at Wet Noise makes it all the more meaningful.

“Thank you Rod for always bringing me into your Bright Light!”

Rod Thomas added: “I wrote the song after one of Ana’s many amazing DJ sets at Wet Noise in NYC – about the total euphoria she creates with her sets that really take you out of the everyday and into such a magical world. That night was amazing, and I met lots of (hot) boys and some who are still good friends.

“The original demo ended up as a bonus track on Enjoy Youth, but it never felt fully complete. After hanging out in 2025, one night I thought: why not ask Ana to re-record my vocals, since the song was written about a night she created? Suddenly it felt like it was in its final form.

“I reworked the production so Ana’s vocals sizzle over the top, and as one of my favourite people on earth, it’s a joy to have yet another song featuring this wonderful human. I love Ana beyond words.”

Not Like All The Other Boys UK Tour

March 12 – Neath – Gwyn Hall
March 13 – London – Royal Vauxhall Tavern
March 15 – Brighton – Komedia
March 16 – Birmingham – Hare & Hounds
March 17 – Manchester – Night & Day Café
March 18 – Glasgow – Stereo

‘Cold Sweat, Hot Boys’ (feat. Ana Matronic) is available to stream on all platforms now.

Bright Light Bright Light’s duets EP Duets will follow later in 2026.