For twenty years, the Wrens’ Charles Bissell has struggled to comply with up The Meadowlands, the forlorn and triumphant indie rock masterpiece that simply turned 20 years outdated. Over the course of that point, a sample emerged: Bissell would spend months and years tinkering with the recordings at house in New Jersey. Finally, he’d promise he was wrapping up work and that an announcement was coming quickly. Typically he’d share unfinished new music. The Wrens even signed to Sub Pop to launch the LP at one level. However the album by no means even made it to the announcement stage; Bissell by no means thought-about it prepared. In 2021, bandmate Kevin Whelan received so annoyed with Bissell that he funneled his songs from the unreleased album into a brand new band referred to as Aeon Station. (That file got here out on Sub Pop. They will need to have been annoyed with Bissell too.)
For weeks and months, Bissell has been assuring the world that this time, his new album is absolutely completed; this time, it’s actually popping out. He’s been pointing to right now as the massive announcement day. Yesterday he shared a lengthy blog post addressing the psychological well being struggles that plagued him all through the late 2010s, providing each some rationalization for what occurred with the Wrens and a phrase of encouragement for others scuffling with despair. At the moment, he has certainly made an announcement. No new music but, however there’s a new band identify, a Bandcamp web page, a track title, a launch date. It’s not what we have been hoping for, however it’s progress.
Bissell’s new undertaking is known as Automotive Colours. The primary single, “Previous Demise,” is out Nov. 17. There’s supposedly an album coming in early 2024, which can “start to rollout after the vacations/new yr with a few singles-to-come, a video or two, the standard.” The label releasing this music will probably be Completely Kosher, the long-defunct indie that launched The Meadowlands, which has been revived by founder Cory Brown for the specific objective of releasing Bissell’s new music. “When Charles requested me again to launch his new music on Completely Kosher on the eve of our twenty fifth anniversary, I used to be overwhelmed with emotion, however it simply felt proper,” Brown tweeted right now from Completely Kosher’s account.
UPDATE: A rep for Aeon Station clarifies that Whelan didn’t stop the Wrens. In keeping with Aeon Station, the Wrens haven’t damaged up and can’t break up until all 4 members agree on it. The opposite three Wrens members, all of whom are in Aeon Station, additionally appear to go away the door open for working with Bissell once more sooner or later. Nevertheless, referring to Automotive Colours as “Charles’ new facet undertaking” might be not the way in which to engender goodwill between the events. Right here’s Aeon Station’s assertion:
There have been an terrible lot of issues which have are available the way in which of this, over an entire lot of years, and so whereas I sorta nonetheless can’t consider it… formally, after 20 brief years (and three weeks, 6 days, and a few hours), welcome to AnnounceDay, Raggedy Man!
the fundamentals:
So let me get proper to the great elements, then we are able to wade into the iffier waters of the backstory…
I’ve renamed the brand new undertaking Automotive Colours.
The primary single, Previous Demise, will probably be out Nov. seventeenth however is out there for pre-order on 12″ vinyl (w/ two b-sides) as of this very morning(!) and you are able to do that HERE!
The brand new album is out early 2024 (extra on that as we get nearer).
And all of that’s by way of the legendary…Completely Kosher Data (!), (sure, as in they-who-released-the last-album,-the-Meadowlands (see Backstory beneath)) now newly revived & relaunched after a 12-year hiatus and simply in time for each their twenty fifth label anniversary and our first Bandcamp Friday collectively.
the fancies:
We’ve additionally received a bunch of associated nifty issues up sleeves:
album will start to rollout after the vacations/new yr with a few singles-to-come, a video or two, the standard..
There will probably be variety of limited-edition variations of the vinyl album with hand-silkscreened covers by me, which will probably be accessible in a pair locations (largely a pair buddies’ shops)
an Atmos v. of the album (after common file launch), and if it pulls off, an accompanying ‘stay’ Atmos listening social gathering at a theatre close to you (okay, really simply close to me).
There will probably be NFT’s of a choose variety of alternate variations of songs (I do know they’ve fallen – or plummeted, actually – out of vogue within the final yr or two however I’m nonetheless actually excited by them, by some cool under-utilized alternatives they current.
the artwork undertaking of ‘orig’ v. of album (sure, I’ll be making an attempt to indicate, and theoretically promote, the ‘album’ as an artwork piece – see my complete years-long ‘Originals vs Copies’ factor) & I’ll be doing that with the esteemed (and okay, simply plain cool) artist, Beth Campbell
And some different issues which are nonetheless within the hashing-out
Extra on all that after the only, after the brand new yr..
in regards to the Previous Demise single…
I’ll go into extra about Previous Demise, this single – as a track, in regards to the lyrics, about the way it’s an invocation and a stand-in for the album in miniature and so forth. – earlier than the Nov. seventeenth launch date. Ditto the 2 b-sides, And It’s All Weapons & Arrows (alt. take), which will probably be on the album (together with the unique v. of that track), and I’ll Bear, which is single-only.
However within the meantime, only a fast hat tip to the drummers, Jeff Lipstein on Previous Demise (he recorded his drums too) and Invoice Swartz on I’ll Bear (we recorded him in our basement with two mics and Invoice’s iPhone, so technically, Invoice ALSO recorded his drums – ha). Each are outdated buddies, each drum takes are wonderful, and extra on each later as effectively..
Why placing it out now..mainly, as soon as we’d began engaged on this all final winter (extra on that instantly beneath), a part of the plan grew to become to relaunch Completely Kosher with this as the primary launch. And a part of that plan was in order that Cory may take some benefit of the remaining months of this, Completely Kosher’s Silver twenty fifth anniversary as a label. He’s received a variety of great releases & re-releases lined up: the superior Sybris, releasing their first new single, Useless on 10/20, albums by Edinburgh College for the Deaf and Brabrabra later in Oct., a label podcast, a vacation TV particular, a collection of field units..it’s taking place.
Then the Automotive Colours album in early ’24 (extra particulars to comply with).
the backstory…
After the break-up of the band in 2021, I spent that summer time & fall scrambling to determine what I used to be going to do for this file each label-wise (staying on Sub Pop, vs one other label vs self-release), lining up issues like a publicist (esp. if I used to be gonna put it out myself) and so forth.. That winter (in order that’s winter 2021-2022), I organized with varied buddies to re-do the drums on my songs since they have been the one issues I hadn’t performed. And whereas these drum recordings got here out splendidly (extra on these heroes later), I had been already fairly exhausted & unhealthy lengthy earlier than the album even completed in 2019, earlier than the protracted band break-up over the subsequent couple of years (for a good suggestion on how dangerous it had all been, see yesterday’s publish on psychological well being). And so by that spring (2022), I sorta simply misplaced any ultimate momentum and gave up.
Yeah, I half-heartedly combined a pair songs, I wrote/recorded a pair extra to increase the unique eight songs right into a full album…however I had stopped (and was really happier within the non-music stuff than I’d been in years). Throughout that point, I additionally kind of punted any choice with Sub Pop – to be clear, placing a file out with a label of their dimension, stature, sources & historical past was actually what I had labored many years towards and the concept of strolling away from that was extremely laborious for me. However I additionally suppose I knew that with how all the things had performed out, that I must depart.
Issues continued apace into the autumn – in order that’s final fall, a yr in the past, 2022 – when discussions started between the opposite former-wrens & myself, Cory (he of Completely Kosher), together with our former administration, making an attempt to hash out a plan to re-release the meadowlands for its twentieth anniversary (which simply handed a number of weeks in the past).
As these talks broke down, it was clear we might not be re-pressing/re-releasing the album however there was good that got here out of it – amongst different issues, I used to be reminded what a very good, and crucially, trustworthy particular person Cory was. I used to be additionally reminded that we have been in a position to work collectively effectively & get issues accomplished not as a result of we agreed on all the things, however as a result of we may disagree with out rancor, and determine no matter out. So I requested him if he’d be enthusiastic about reviving Completely Kosher, which he’d had on hiatus since 2011, to assist me put this file out. I figured we’d do it on Bandcamp, perhaps press some cassettes or piano rolls, and we may each exit on a excessive word, because it ought to’ve been all alongside, collectively. That was my pitch anyway (ha). Sweetly, he was very moved and agreed, so I wriggled out of my SubPop contract proper earlier than the vacations that December. However cooler, as soon as he hit the bottom working after the brand new yr, individuals appeared to return out of the woodwork to supply him (and by extension, me) recommendation on the altering label-scape, distribution, funding and so forth. All of it simply appeared to again up my hunch that this was the proper factor all alongside (following hunches being kind of a late-blooming factor I’m placing inventory in). And his momentum carried me together with it. I went from having thrown in no matter towel one throws twenty years after a sport ends on the finish of final yr, to right here, as we shut out the previous couple of months of this yr, extra optimistic and enthusiastic about music, about placing out this music, than I’ve been in a loooong time.
And I wouldn’t be doing it if he hadn’t mentioned sure.
I nonetheless really feel like one thing goes to occur and this album isn’t going to drop. However issues are transferring in the proper course for the primary time in a very long time.