New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Seattle-based post-punk outfit Nostalgist has unveiled 'Pendulums' ahead of releasing their new album 'Disaffection', slated for vinyl and digital release on March 30. The six-track offering includes five original songs and a cover of 'Texture' from shoegaze legends Catherine Wheel's 1992 classic album 'Ferment'. This new single follows up the super lush shoegaze-leaning rippers 'Present:Tense' and 'Smoldering Amber'.
Formed in 2012, Nostalgist is led by Asa Eisenhardt (vocals and guitar). 'Disaffection' follows 'Of Loves and Days Ago' (2015) and 2013's 'Monochromantic' EP, which was engineered, mixed and mastered by Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, King Woman, Tony Molina).
Recorded and mixed throughout 2016 and 2017, every track on 'Disaffection' features great contributions by renowned drummer Aesop Dekker (Khorada, Worm Ouroboros, Extremity, ex-Agalloch). More recently, in the fall of 2017, Alex Entrekin joined as the new drummer, building on Dekker's crushing performances while bringing nuances and twists all his own. Monte McCleery (also of Seattle funeral doom outfit Un) is currently filling in on bass.
Nostalgist's brand of heavy, ethereal post-punk is informed by bands like Lowlife, Slowdive, Lycia, Comsat Angels, The Chameleons, Killing Joke, Fields of the Nephilim, Hum, and Red House Painters.
"The metaphorical, titular pendulum "cut[ing] both ways" is the arduous back-and-forth painfully wearing away at the seams of a relationship. 'Pendulums' not only laments the ending of that relationship, but also self-examines one's own counterproductive contributions. Both parties involved are incompatibly who they are, and both of them hurt from the fallout. The best one can do is see the situation for what it is and move on. That dogged resilience in tandem with the gloom thematically flows right into the subsequent song on the record 'Present:Tense'," says Asa Eisenhardt.
Emotional openness has been the band's hallmark since the band's beginnings. Since its inception, Nostalgist's sonic blend has been equal parts swirling riffs, expansive shoegaze atmospheres and airy post-punk isolation, combined with a romantic, self-questioning lyrical bent and cinematic themes. Lush layers of warm guitar fuzz and shimmering reverb interweave with melodic bass, intricate drums and evocative, determined vocals, tempering the music's melancholy with just a slight sliver of hope.
Nostalgist crafts lush and powerfully intense distortion-laden dream rock riffs. A love of film noir, a sense of isolation and a decidedly romantic aesthetic shine through what are generally vulnerable lyrics. Eisenhardt's talents in post-punk song-crafting are illuminated in the darkest moments with the warm, glowing embers of nebulous shoegaze.
The outfit's latest output only further refines these sounds and ideas. "When writing 'Disaffection,' my sights were firmly set on creating a handful of focused, memorable songs that crystallized everything I've wanted Nostalgist to be, to the best and most thorough degree possible. It's a mission statement on the direction of everything to come," says Eisenhardt.
The 'Disaffection' album will be released on March 16 on vinyl and digitally on March 30 via the band's own label imprint Nostalgium Directive. It is already available for pre-order via Bandcamp at https://nostalgist.bandcamp.com/album/disaffection.
TRACK LIST:
1. Pendulums
2. Smoldering Amber
3. Present:Tense
4. Petrichorale
5. Threshed At Dusk, Winnowed At Dawn
6. Texture
CREDITS:
Asa Eisenhardt - vocals, guitar, bass, synth, arrangement, lyrics (except 'Texture')
Aesop Dekker - session drums
Instrumentals produced and engineered at Soundhouse, Studio Foster and Electric Wall by Evan Foster
Vocals produced and engineered at Studio Nels by Will Smith
Mixed by Evan Foster at Studio Foster
Mastered by Justin Weis at Trakworx
Master lacquer cut by Levi Seitz at
Black Belt Mastering
