Category: Track/Video Release

The Flower Kings launch new single “Revolution” 

Third track from upcoming album ‘By Royal Decree’

Prog icons The Flower Kings are set to release their 15th studio album ‘By Royal Decree’ on the 4th March 2022.  Now, the band are pleased to share the third single from the album, “Revolution”. Watch the video here:

Roine comments:

“The songs on the new double album come from a whole lot of different places in time and space, often a combination of themes gathered from older ideas born before The Flower Kings emerged in 1994, mixed with brand new ideas. 

’Revolution’ is that kind of a song; a mini epic that is reflecting a number of themes spanning this album, cinematic and sometimes bombastic. A celebration of creation and the evolution, making the world what it is, through the million years of  fire, brimstone, ice ages, floods, devastation, pain and finally….. beauty, colors, flowers, the vast oceans of life and new life out of the darkness & raging volcanos. The miracle!

The song is yet another piece of the larger scale composition that is ‘By Royal Decree’ – a sort of modern 2022 Rock Opera if you will. A landmark album from this band that we’re all incredibly proud of!”

‘Revolution’ also features a guest appearance from Jonas Lindberg, who plays bass on this track.

Listen to the album’s first single “The Great Pretender” here: https://youtu.be/03NFABil4yo

Watch the video for the second single “A Million Stars” here: https://youtu.be/k0RiSF1Lwac

‘By Royal Decree’ Tracklisting

1.The Great Pretender (6:55) 

2.World Gone Crazy (5:04) 

3.Blinded (7:45) 

4.A Million Stars (7:11) 

5.The Soldier (5:23) 

6.The Darkness In You (5:13) 

7.We Can Make It Work (2:48) 

8.Peacock On Parade (5:15) 

9.Revolution (5:59) 

10.Time The Great Healer (6:12) 

11.Letter (2:25) 

12.Evolution (4:47) 

13.Silent Ways (5:01) 

14.Moth (4:31) 

15.The Big Funk (4:39) 

16.Open Your Heart (5:17) 

17.Shrine (1:08) 

18.Funeral Pyres (7:14) 

‘By Royal Decree’ will be available as Ltd. 2CD Digipak, 

as Ltd. 180g 3LP+2CD Box Set as well as Digital Album. 

You can pre-order the album now here:

https://theflowerkings.lnk.to/ByRoyalDecree

The band are back at their most creative, flowery and playful – mirroring the 70’s melting pot of folk, symphonic, electronic, jazz, blues, funk & prog. On the new album they have looked for more organic and vintage sounds, still centered around the foundation of drums, bass, guitars and the iconic Hammond, grand piano, mellotron & Moog synthesizers.

The album also sees the return of founding member Michael Stolt, who takes up bass guitar and vocals, alongside the line-up of Mirko DeMaio on drums, Zach Kamins on keyboards, Hasse Fröberg on vocal & guitar and Roine Stolt on vocal & guitars and Jonas Reingold on bass. The band convened in the middle of 2021 at Fenix Studios in Sweden to record through the fully analogue Rupert Neve mixing desk. The album also features beautiful cover art, once again created by Denver-based artist Kevin Sloan.

This year’s tour will also see the band revisiting their early years, performing tracks from ‘Retropolis’, ‘Stardust We Are’, ‘Flower Power’, ‘Space Revolver’ and ‘Back In The World Of Adventures’. This will coincide with the release of newly remastered editions of The Flower Kings albums on CD & Vinyl later in 2022. The first confirmed live dates are as follows: 

30th March 2022 – Katalin, Uppsala, Sweden

31st March 2022 – Musikens Hus, Gothenburg, Sweden

1st April 2022 – Södra Teatern, Stockholm, Sweden

1-7th May 2022 – Cruise To The Edge, USA

11th May 2022  – Imperial Bell, Quebec City, Canada

12th May 2022  – Club Soda, Montreal, Canada

14th July 2022  – Rootsfestival, Notodden, Norway

4th Sept 2022  –  HRH Festival , UK

Lobate Scarp To Release Second Full Length Album – ‘You Have It All’

Progressive-rock band Lobate Scarp will release their second full-length studio album You Have It All on April 1. It serves as an expansion to their 2019 EP Spirals and Portals. Progressive rock fans will appreciate the 17-minute finale “Flowing Through The Change” and the 14 1/2-minute title track featuring guest vocalists Jon Davison and Billy Sherwood from Yes. Modern prog fans will also enjoy guest appearances from Ryo Okumoto (Spock’s Beard) and Jimmy Keegan (Spock’s Beard, Pattern-Seeking Animals). Also drumming on both epic tracks is Eric Moore (Suicidal Tendencies, Infectious Grooves).

Rich Mouser, whose mixing repertoire includes Spock’s Beard, Transatlantic, Neal Morse, has once again mixed the album, and has played even a bigger role as co-producer and additional musician on several tracks. Steven Leavitt, producer of Lobate Scarp’s debut album Time and Space, has also returned to co-produce and engineer. The album will be available in a high-res digital format as well as a limited edition glossy CD-booklet including 16-pages of lyrics, art, and liner notes. This is the third Lobate release with a front cover created by David A. Hardy, infamous space artist. The album is currently available to pre-order at Indiegogo / gotprog.com.

Lobate Scarp is a progressive opera-rock band based in Los Angeles. Their influences range from classic prog-rock of the 70’s such as Genesis and Yes, to 80’s pop such as Duran Duran and Tears for Fears, as well as strong ties to musical theater. Their debut Time and Space has had positive reviews published in numerous music publications and websites such as Prog Archives, Empire Music, and Yes Music Podcast. Online blog, Progarchy called Time and Space “one of the top 13 albums of 2013”. The band is scheduled to perform at this year’s RoSFest, one of America’s premiere progressive rock festival which will take place in Sarasota, Florida.

Playgrounded release new single ‘The Swan’, new album ‘The Death of Death’ released 18th March (Pelagic Records)

Having played with big neo-prog acts like Riverside, Playgrounded are no strangers to outer limits of the contemporary merging of rock and electronica. Their upcoming album “The death of Death”, released on 18th March, features compositions based from dynamic sound design structures by main composer Orestis. New single “The Swan” sees these glitchy synth textures seep through the negative space between languid guitar riffs and chugging bass grooves. The band comment,

“We share with you The Swan, the track that we have chosen as the opening of The death of Death. The lyrics set the premise for the rest of the album: desperate or fascinating, one’s relation to the world that surrounds us is grounded to the very matter of which we are made.”

Listen to “The Swan” now:

Greece has spawned countless instances of criminally underrated music acts in diverse genres ranging from black metal to electronic to avant garde pop music, and the sophomore album of modern progressive metal act Playgrounded titled ‘The death of Death’ is yet another striking example.

“Where did this come from?” you will find yourself wondering, while absorbing the stunning intensity and musical prowess on display. From the perfection of the production and the inherent innovation in defining heaviness by means of not only downtuned guitars, but also elements of electronica are the pillars of an intriguingly idiosyncratic, incredibly mature sound.

Hailing from Greece, but spending most of their time in the Netherlands, the musical pedigree of the members of Playgrounded is quite unprecedented in the metal/rock underground. Main composer and producer Orestis Zafeirou is a graduate from the Institute of Sonology of the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague, a department focused on electronic music education and production research. Additionally, he works in a synth factory. Vocalist and co-producer Stavros Markonis graduated from the Amsterdam conservatoire and is an award-winning composer for film and TV. Bass player Odysseas Zafeiriou and guitar player Michael Kotsirakis both work as computer engineers, while drummer Giorgos Pouliasis is a graduate from the Rotterdam Conservatoire, as well as a drum teacher and a popular session musician in Greece as well as in the Netherlands.

Starting out in 2007, Playgrounded have been together for over 15 years, playing both national and international tours, while also opening for bands like Riverside and even Nine Inch Nails in Amsterdam. Their first EP Athens (2012, Casket Music) portrays an already mature band playing modern prog rock influenced by Tool and Deftones. Their debut full-length In Time With Gravity (2017) shows the band in full flux, experimenting with extended compositions as well as influences from influential contemporary electronic music acts like Modeselektor and Moderat.

Playgrounded’s sophomore album lives up to the aspiration of its lofty album title. The death of Death is music that results from mastery rather than lacklustre exploration and experimentation. The album was recorded at MD Recording Studios by Nikos Michalodimitrakis, long collaborator of Stavros in film productions. Mixing was handled by C.A.Cederberg (Leprous, Shining, and more) in Kristiansand, NO, while the album was mastered by George Tanderø (Madrugada, Satyricon, Jaga Jazzist, and more) in Oslo, NO.

Demonstrating a profound understanding of the glitches they produce, Playgrounded evoke a sense of the uncanny closely related to the cut-up movie fragments of sound artists like the German Orson Hentschel. 

“We start with dynamic sound design structures, most of the times initiated by Orestis,” explains guitarist Michael Kotsirakis. “We then work in pairs expanding the musical space and creating variations and flourishes. Sometimes the lyrics and vocals will dictate a change in quality, other times it’s one of the instruments. After many ideas are on the table Stavros and Orestis sit together and propose a song structure. After this loop has been repeated over and over we have a very good idea of all the parts. That’s when we hit the rehearsal space and refine the details.”

The result is a collection of songs that reveal Playgrounded as composers in the act of decomposition. The memorable guitar riffs and vocal melodies serve as gateways to a deeper layer of glitchy synth textures and liquid drumming, until the perspective of radical decomposition consumes one whole. 

“The shortest sound units become extended themes,” explains main composer Orestis Zafeirou. “Steady rhythmical blocks interact with unstable ones. Noise becomes tone and melody. Sonic grains gather to form masses, masses dissolve into a single entity. With every repetition, comes change.”

On The death of Death, Playgrounded analyse and take apart their surroundings, reducing reality to its smallest components, subsequently converting them into sound to create a new platform – a representation of reality from which they build their artistic vision. In essence The death of Death is dialectical, a study of unity in opposition. A disclosure of contradictory aspects of reality, an expression of their mutual relationship. From these contradictions the band manages to construct a brooding world of dark magnificence. The death of Death has the appeal of a film score that slowly starts to haunt you as the movie progresses. The more you listen to it, the more its sublime beauty becomes apparent.

Pre-order the album now –  https://listen.pelagic-records.com/playgrounded

FFO Karnivool, Katatonia, Nine Inch Nails, Deftones, Moderat, The Ocean, Vola, Leprous, Skyharbor,

LINEUP 
Odysseas Zafeiriou – Bass Michael Kotsirakis – Guitars Stavros Markonis – Vocals Orestis Zafeiriou – Synths / Sampling Giorgos Pouliasis – Drums

Jo Beth Young to Release First Single ‘BRIGID’ on February 4th 2022, From Upcoming Album ‘Broken Spells’

Ethereal, Indie-folk musician Jo Beth Young (fka Talitha Rise) announces the release of Electro-Folk single BRIGID, the first song from her new album Broken Spells’ The track is a distinctive departure from her previous work, infusing a more upbeat, electronic landscape bringing home to  February, inspired by the Celtic Goddess BRIGID.  

A taster of what changes and atmospheres may be to come in her first album under her own name, to be released later in 2022.

Jo Beth Says:  

“I wrote and created Brigid very late at night on IMBOLC eve itself last year (St. Brigid’s festival on February 1st). I had been working on the new album for some months and hit a real wall in inspiration, especially production wise. For some reason that night, and maybe it was because of it being Imbolc itself, I felt a new energy and started experimenting with loops and beats, something I’d never attempted before. Content wise, It’s as close to a love song as I might ever write and is about finally breaking through and getting out of dark time or rut or finally uniting or reuniting with someone or something that you feel deeply connected to on soul level. Imbolc is when Persephone is said to come out of the underworld and bring spring to the earth each year. Part of Brigid’s folklore is that she will knock on the door three times that night and if you let her in you let healing and the spring into your life also. It felt very apt and after all of us have been through such a strange time on the planet, it felt like an omen of hope and that there really may be something to look forward to!“

The track features Devon based Cellist Ben Roberts (Abrasive Trees, Evi Vine), beat maker and producer Matt Blackie, and her co-collaborater John Reed from the NIGHTSONG project on lap steel. All the parts were recorded at a distance between the UK and the cottage Jo was living in at the time in the West of Ireland.  

Her new album BROKEN SPELLS will be out later this year, the release date of which is not yet confirmed, but there is much more to come from the album yet!  
DIGITAL DELUXE RELEASE 

The single will be available on all major streaming platforms but will also include a  Deluxe release on her music glue website as a Digital Deluxe version on MP3 and WAV format. 

Jo Beth’s new album Broken Spells will be the first official release under her own name and not under her previous stage names of Talitha Rise and RISE . It features members of her touring band ‘The Abandoned Orchestra’ as well as long term collaborator Peter Yates (Fields Of The Nephillim). Recorded and Produced between England, Ireland and Spain, the album is a thematic exploration of ‘spells’ breaking from both the personal and collective point of view. She has been working on the record since she finished touring her last album STRANGERS in 2019. Interestingly, and perhaps spookily, during recent times, and after having named the new album, Jo Beth found out she was the descendant of Isobell Young  –  a Scottish woman who was accused, persecuted and executed for witch craft in the 1600’s. With the upcoming pardon of Scottish witches on the horizon, Jo Beth has recently been interviewed by publications such as The Sunday Times and Daily Mail on the subject and her feelings on creativity, healing and the end of persecution for women in particular.  

Tracks from the new album will appear on upcoming film The Clear which is currently being produced in the UK.  

Starfish64 Release New Single – ‘Birdsong’ – Ahead of Forthcoming Album ‘Scattered Pieces Of Blue’

Starfish64 have a new single out in support of their new album coming in early 2022. The song is an evocative and uplifting hymn to the birdsong and beauty of nature. The forthcoming album „Scattered Pieces Of Blue“ will include a wide range of moods from groovy modern sounds, fragile acoustic pieces to a lengthy and spacey progressive suite.

Birdsong is available through all common streaming services and download portals as well as on:

https://starfish64.bandcamp.com

You can watch the video here:

Arjen Anthony Lucassen’s Star One – shares new single & video for “Prescient” feat. Micheal Mills and Ross Jennings; pre-orders start today

Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon) is back with a new Star One album titled Revel In Time.  The new album comes more than 10 years since the previous release and is due out on Feb 18th, 2022 on InsideOutMusic.  Revel In Time is now available for pre-order, along with the re-issues of “Victims of the Modern Age” and “Space Metal”. 

Today, Arjen is pleased to share the third single and video for “Prescient” featuring Micheal Mills (Toehider) and Ross Jennings (Haken, Novena).

Watch the video for “Prescient” here:

Arjen has this to say about the track:

“For me this is the most varied Star One album so far, every track has a totally different feel. The first single, Lost Children of the Universe, is a big epic track; the second single, Fate of Man, is a fast metal track, and Prescient is definitely the most proggy on the album. With the video we tried to capture that vintage black and white Twilight Zone feel with a touch of David Lynch!”

Revel In Time is available as Ltd. 2CD Digipak, Ltd. Deluxe 3CD+Blu-Ray Artbook (incl. a poster of the cover artwork), as 180g Gatefold 2LP (incl. the album on CD & an LP-Booklet) and as Digital Album (2 CD).

Also available will be a 5.1 mix, a high-res audio version, and an exclusive, hour-long Behind the Scenes video, on the Blu-ray included in the Artbook.

You can pre-order the album here:

https://arjenanthonylucassensstarone.lnk.to/RevelInTime

1] Fate of Man 5:29

2] 28 Days (Till the End of Time) 7:21

3] Prescient 6:34

4] Back from the Past 4:50

5] Revel in Time 4:38

6] The Year of ’41 6:20

7] Bridge of Life 5:14

8] Today is Yesterday 5:46

9] A Hand on the Clock 5:52

10] Beyond the Edge of it All 4:52

11] Lost Children of the Universe 9:46 

CD 2 features alternate versions of the same songs as CD 1, but with different vocalists.

Arjen explains the decision to return with a new Star One album:

“Ayreon is like the mothership for all my music. It contains all the different musical styles that I like to listen to and that I love to create. But I’m always looking for challenges and trying to create something new and original as well. Working within a set of constraints forces you to do that, so sometimes I like to limit myself and focus on just one style. For example, with Star One I focus on the metal-side of Ayreon. That means you won’t hear the exuberantly liberal use of acoustic instruments that are so often featured on Ayreon albums, like violin, woodwinds, cello, horns, dulcimer, mandolin, etc.”

THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY EXPANDED EDITION OF TIM BOWNESS AND GIANCARLO ERRA’S 2011 ALBUM WARM WINTER TO BE RELEASED AS MEMORIES OF MACHINES

An expanded and remixed, 10th Anniversary version of Tim Bowness and Giancarlo Erra’s 2011 album Warm Winter (now issued as Memories Of Machines, the original project name) will be released on 25th February through Kscope. 

Featuring contributions from Robert Fripp, Peter Hammill, Julianne Regan, Jim Matheos, Colin Edwin, Huxflux Nettermalm, Peter Chilvers, Aleksei Saks and members of Nosound and Tim Bowness’s live bands, the album contains 10 sweeping and majestic songs (culminating in the epic At The Centre Of It All). 

Available on CD/DVD-A/V – with hi-res stereo and 5.1 Surround mixes – and double vinyl, the reissue contains two 2020 recordings – an album outtake and a new version of the 2006 Nosound piece “Someone Starts To Fade Away” – created especially for this release. 

Featuring a 2021 remix from the original tapes by Giancarlo Erra, this new edition emphasises the textural nature of the music and restores the pieces to their original arrangements and track lengths (resulting in a very different listening experience). 

The artwork has also been enhanced and overhauled for the release by Giancarlo Erra and Caroline Traitler.

Memories Of Machines – 2 disc (CD/DVD), 2LP and digital album are all available to 

PRE-ORDER HERE (https://TBGE.lnk.to/MemoriesOfMachines )

1. New Memories Of Machines [01:25]

2. Before We Fall [05:10]

3. Beautiful Songs You Should Know [05:37]

4. Warm Winter [06:00]

5. Lucky You Lucky Me [04:26]

6. Change Me Once Again [05:46]

7. Something In Our Lives [04:08]

8. Lost And Found In The Digital World [05:25]

9. Schoolyard Ghosts [04:53]

10. At The Centre Of It All [09:49]

11. Dreamless Days (outtake) [04:31]

12. Someone Starts To Fade Away (2020 TBGE) (04:51)

Photography by Katherine Mager

The Flower Kings share new single “The Great Pretender” from upcoming album ‘By Royal Decree’

Prog icons The Flower Kings recently announced the release of their 15th studio album ‘By Royal Decree’, set for 4th March 2022.  Now, the band are pleased to share the first single from the album “The Great Pretender.” The album is now available for pre-order.

Check out the new track here: 

Roine Stolt on the new single: “In the 25 year history and 16 studio albums of ’The Flower Kings’ – being in the middle of it all means it is not always easy to try and take a look from the outside, but this track represent well both what is new and what is old – the melodic side and the sonic adventure.” 

‘By Royal Decree’ Tracklisting

1.The Great Pretender (6:55) 

2.World Gone Crazy (5:04) 

3.Blinded (7:45) 

4.A Million Stars (7:11) 

5.The Soldier (5:23) 

6.The Darkness In You (5:13) 

7.We Can Make It Work (2:48) 

8.Peacock On Parade (5:15) 

9.Revolution (5:59) 

10.Time The Great Healer (6:12) 

11.Letter (2:25) 

12.Evolution (4:47) 

13.Silent Ways (5:01) 

14.Moth (4:31) 

15.The Big Funk (4:39) 

16.Open Your Heart (5:17) 

17.Shrine (1:08) 

18.Funeral Pyres (7:14) 

‘By Royal Decree’ will be available as Ltd. 2CD Digipak, 

as Ltd. 180g 3LP+2CD Box Set as well as Digital Album. 

You can pre-order the album now here:

https://theflowerkings.lnk.to/ByRoyalDecree

The band are back at their most creative, flowery and playful – mirroring the 70’s melting pot of folk, symphonic, electronic, jazz, blues, funk & prog. On the new album they have looked for more organic and vintage sounds, still centered around the foundation of drums, bass, guitars and the iconic Hammond, grand piano, mellotron & Moog synthesizers. 

The album also sees the return of founding member Michael Stolt, who takes up bass guitar and vocals, alongside the line-up of Mirko DeMaio on drums, Zach Kamins on keyboards, Hasse Fröberg on vocal & guitar and Roine Stolt on vocal & guitars and Jonas Reingold on bass. The band convened in the middle of 2021 at Fenix Studios in Sweden to record through the fully analogue Rupert Neve mixing desk. The album also features beautiful cover art, once again created by Denver-based artist Kevin Sloan. 

Next year’s tour will also see the band revisiting their early years, performing tracks from ‘Retropolis’, ‘Stardust We Are’, ‘Flower Power’, ‘Space Revolver’ and ‘Back In The World Of Adventures’. This will coincide with the release of newly remastered editions of The Flower Kings albums on CD & Vinyl later in 2022. The first confirmed live dates are as follows: 

30th March 2022 – Katalin, Uppsala, Sweden

31st March 2022 – Musikens Hus, Gothenburg, Sweden

1st April 2022 – Södra Teatern, Stockholm, Sweden

1-7th May 2022 – Cruise To The Edge, USA

11th May 2022  – TBA, Quebec City, Canada

12th May 2022  – TBA, Montreal, Canada

14th July 2022  – Rootsfestival, Notodden, Norway

4th Sept 2022  –  HRH Festival , UK

Boston, Massachusetts Trio, Raibard, Exclusive Single Premiere And New Album Details

“Hidden in our unstable and chaotic and random experience of the world is the utter stability of the deeply and ever unfolding human mind. If you learn to quiet yourself, to quiet your mind – you will find this path”

Based out of Boston, Massachusetts, the dynamic rock trio, RAIBARD, combine an array of genre influences and styles to produce an experimental, progressive sound. Their new album, Dark Realm of the Daylight, is no exception.

“We made this record for everyone who doesn’t fit inside a preconceived box. We don’t fit in either. ‘Dark Realm of the Daylight’ is about nonconformity. It’s about exploring who you are without any judgement; about letting go of rigid thought and antiquated visions. ‘Dark Realm’ is opening to experience the world as it truly is.”

The band was founded in December 2015 by Daniel Gil and they draw upon musical inspiration from rock and metal bands including LED ZEPPELIN, THE BEATLES, and OPETH. Daniel also brings in his interest as a modern mystic; someone who experiences hidden realities and studies ancient texts on mysticism. The title track on the new album is inspired by author and teacher Tony Buzan who teaches about mind mapping and the genius of every single human being, promoting the advancement of consciousness through inner awareness and compassionate living.

From the psychedelic soundscape of “Eternal Rise” through to the more heavily, distorted guitars in “Forever After”, Dark Realm of the Daylight is transcendent in nature. The album explores the light and the dark through progressive instrumentation, intricate composition, and meaningful lyrical themes. Become immersed in the dynamic atmosphere exploring a sense of the avant-garde.

New single, ‘Eternal Rise’, is released on 16th November and you can listen to it exclusively here:

Stream RAIBARD – Eternal Rise by C Squared | Listen online for free on SoundCloud

You can buy the single here:

Eternal Rise | Raibard (bandcamp.com)

SOM ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM ‘THE SHAPE OF EVERYTHING’

Following their spring 2021 Awake EP and shimmering cover of Billie Eilish’s “Everything I Wanted,” the new single “Animals” finds SOM refining a sound that has been called “doom pop” by Metal Injection, with ethereal heartfelt vocals atop huge riffs alternating between gritty & atmospheric. The accompanying video was directed by Toshadeva Palani (Alcest, Junius, Angel Olsen).

“Animals” is the first single from the quintet’s second full-length, The Shape of Everything, to be released 21st January (Pelagic Records) right on time for the heavy shoegazers’ European tour opening for Katatonia and Sólstafir.

Following the acclaim accrued by 2018 debut The Fall, the group (comprised of current and former members of Constants, Junius, and recent Grammy nominees Caspian) had planned to enter the studio in 2020 to record the follow-up. However, pandemic-induced lockdown forced them to improvise and record entirely remotely, producing 2021’s luscious Awake EP.

This new workflow redefined SOM’s process, which carried into the completion of their forthcoming LP. Its concise compositions balance gritty riffs with airy vocal lines that will appeal to fans of Deftones and Tame Impala alike, and are just as primed for rock radio as for shoegaze-loving connoisseurs.

“About halfway through the writing cycle for our new record, I woke up to an email from our guitar player Joel with an mp3 attached called ‘animals’,” says vocalist and guitarist Will Benoit. “He sent it at like 3 or 4 AM, so I knew he was excited to share something that he had obviously stayed up late working on. He was living in Richmond at the time and this was during last year’s George Floyd protests, so he was front row watching monuments getting torn down and experiencing a real cultural shift. Later on he said it was both horrible and inspiring.

“I was pretty blown away by the demo. From the first note of that lonely, haunting guitar intro all the way through the heightened tension of the instrumental outro — that was all in his original version, and it felt like lightning in a bottle that I had to dig in on immediately. I remember I was running errands all morning, and in the car I was bouncing back and forth between listening to the demo and recording voice memos of all the vocal melodies on my phone. By 11 AM I had the chorus lyrics and harmonies worked out, by 2 PM I was back in the studio and had all the vocals recorded pretty close to how they are on the album.”

Watch the video for ‘Animals’ now:

It’s this creative efficiency and sense of intuition in songwriting that gives The Shape Of Everything its compelling power. The intentional, self-imposed paradigm of minimalism, the aim to reduce each musical idea to its emotive essence is what makes the band sound huge — and of course the flawless, modern yet incredibly warm and rich production by Will Benoit himself. The album was recorded, mixed and mastered at his own Radar Studio in Connecticut – New England’s first solar-powered recording facility.

The tracks are part of SOM’s ongoing mission to “leave this place better than we found it.” Frontman Will Benoit co-founded the outfit with drummer and former Constants colleague Duncan Rich, as well as Adai founder and now-Caspian drummer Justin Forrest. While touring on The Fall, the band recruited old friends guitarists Mike Repasch-Nieves and Joel M. Reynolds, both formerly of Junius and Driftoff.

While many artists lumbered in inactivity, SOM used the darkness of recent times to create and heal. The Shape of Everything’s introspective bliss is an insight into the kind of harmony the quintet seek to cultivate in all facets of life.

LINE UP 
Will Benoit – vocals, guitars 

Justin Forrest – bass 

Mike Repasch-Nieves – guitars 

Joel M. Reynolds – guitars 

Duncan Rich – drums