The Thread Virginia MacNaughton

• 1 Gravity 04:33
• 2 The Thread 05:22
• 3 The Morning 04:39
• 4 The Kestrel 04:46
• 5 The Taking 04:10
• 6 Spellbound 05:08
• 7 Swipe 05:23
• 8 Red Flag 04:03
• 9 Wolf Moon 04:45
• 10 Glorious 03:59
• 11 New Moon Landing 04:06
• 12 Prelude in C 02:12
• Total Runtime 53:06

Info for The Thread

The Thread was written and recorded between October 2020 and March 2021 at Eiger Studios, Leeds. Produced by William Jackson (Platinum Award-winning records for The Pigeon Detectives, + The Cribs, Kaiser Chiefs, Wiz Khalifa, Embrace, The Music, Magna Carta). The songs chart the journey of a doomed encounter, its inevitable end and the salvation of real love.

Life and death has occurred along the way.



“There’s so much about it that’s gorgeous …I hear hints of Todd Rundgren, Kate Bush. It’s a beautiful record” (Stephen Budd)

Critically acclaimed singer and songwriter Virginia MacNaughton has released the new double A-side of ‘Wolf Moon’ and ‘The Thread’, giving an extended taste of the forthcoming album The Thread out February 27th.

Virginia started work on her upcoming third album in October 2020, after the end of a brief encounter which had such a profound impact. After a few short weeks of ‘romance’, cruelly rejected and devastated by the experience and with a need to chart the journey, she sat at the piano and the first song was already there.

The album was announced with lead single and album opener ‘Gravity’ in October 2025, and the bright majestic song introduced the power and pull of the ultimately doomed encounter. The new single and title track ‘The Thread’ follows, marked by Felix Burling’s haunting flugelhorn, and is about the persuasiveness of that connection, the sense of her new lover imbuing everything.

‘Wolf Moon’ marks a turning point with its jazzy feel as the connection loosens, and the healing begins.

The Thread now resumes its journey and is released in February 2026. “I had to complete the circle,” says Virginia. “The Bach prelude at the end of the album marks the memory of my dad – a piece he played all his life, Bach was his great love, and he taught me to play the prelude as a child.” The photograph on the album cover is of Virginia aged two, with her Dad and sister. He passed down to her a love of melody and musical knowledge – a well of experience she drew from to create this album about moving from destructive obsession to enduring love.

For a record shrouded by such immense heartache, by contrast it is sonically immensely uplifting as The Thread plays out a true reflection of the turbulent emotive experience of life. It encapsulates our uncontrollable urges, the carefree will to wholeheartedly follow joy, the resilience to withstand unfathomable trauma and the long winding road to recovery and healing.

Josh Ketch, drums
Mick Bedford, Josh Ketch, drums (Gravity)
Felix Burling, flugelhorn
Jasper Cole, saxophone
William Jackson, guitars
Virginia MacNaughton, piano, vocals

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