New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Today, Haunted Shed have announced Faltering Light, the band's debut album releasing April 2 via Strolling Bones Records. Led by songwriter/singer Etienne de Rocher, Haunted Shed features Athens, GA mainstays including guitarist Dan Nettles (Kenosha Kid), drummer Joe Rowe (The Glands) and bassist/cellist Jacob Morris (Vic Chesnutt, Patterson Hood). Faltering Light was co-produced with Etienne and Drew Vandenberg (Of Montreal, Toro Y Moi, Kishi Bashi). Accompanying the announcement, Haunted Shed shares the album's debut single "Old Joy" along with a scintillating video showcasing Etienne's wild and unfettered imagination.
"When we moved to Athens, I was struck by the lack of recovery culture and how many of my creative friends were 'stuck' in a cycle of cheap rent, lots of partying, and easy-come-easy-go jobs," says Etienne. "It feels like some kind of bohemian fantasy world when you get here and everybody is doing it but it takes its toll. I had just finished reading Jonathan Franzen's Freedom and watching
Kelly Reichardt's film Old Joy when this song spilled out."
Haunted Shed originally formed when Etienne needed a band to provide musical ambiance for an impromptu haunted house in his backyard shed on Halloween. Once they started playing, however, Etienne explains, "The songs sprang to life. The sleepy, folky soul I had been mining in the Bay Area was all but gone and replaced with edgy, pulsing gothic soundscapes. I was a musician again and finally an Athenean."
Etienne got his start in the Bay Area's vibrant 1990's music scene, before relocating to Athens in 2008. His eponymous 2006 release garnered a cult following with songs that blended the avant-sonicity of indie rock with the elegance of 1960's baroque pop. For Haunted Shed, Etienne called upon the specters of Southern Gothic tomes, conjuring driving, hypnotic songs with surreal and poetic lyrics. He explains, "These themes are definitely a big part of how I saw the South growing up. And it was something I missed during my West Coast years. You can't escape it in Athens. It's steeped in the soil, trees, and buildings." This is handsomely contrasted with songwriting and compositional arrangements that enter an entirely advanced dimension, with ample help from some of Athens' most seasoned veterans.
While the elements of Haunted Shed radiate with the resonance of indie rock's heyday, this is not the now common sound of young musicians endearingly affecting the '90s. One need only listen to hear the experience that comes through in their musicianship. These guys lived through those years and have taken that sound to new heights with the innovative and carefully crafted album that is Faltering Light.
