Massachusetts post-hardcore lifers There Were Wires have never been a band interested in repeating themselves, and they seem even less inclined to do so now. More than 20 years removed from the cult status of Somnambulists and their influential run through New England’s chaotic hardcore underground, after a long period of inactivity, the reunited veterans return with Vessel, their first new full-length since 2003. Rather than chasing nostalgia, the album finds the band expanding on the atmospheric weight, crushing heaviness and emotional depth that made their earlier material resonate long after their initial run ended.
Written and recorded over a period of almost two years by the band themselves, Vessel balances caustic post-hardcore intensity and noise rock sharpness with moments of reflection and restraint. The result is a record that feels shaped by the passage of time, informed by loss, grief, friendship and persistence, but delivered with the same urgency that made There Were Wires such a formidable force in the first place.
Today, Decibel is proud to present the full-stream premiere of Vessel ahead of its June 26 release via Iodine Recordings.
“I did not think Vessel would ever see the light of day,” singer Jaime Mason told us. “A 20-year absence from any and all activity, a greying spread across time zones, and the inexhaustible amount of obstacles set in the pathway of this record kept me in constant doubt. There Were Wires was a band formed in some other lifetime – almost in another universe from where we are now. I’m adjusting my reading glasses as I type this, nestled into my big grey couch with my dog Henry resting on my knee. I’m 3,000 miles away from the rest of my bandmates, watching a nearly finished video of ourselves performing “The Carousel of Sickening Bliss”. It’s visceral, angry, and visually beautiful for such an aggressive song. The video and entire record will be released later this week, delivered to the ether of the internet for scrutiny, applause, or indifference. I have feelings about it. Feelings on top of feelings on top of feelings, that’s what this record is drowning in.”
He continues, showing the undeniable emotional charge behind this record: “We all have lived a lot of life as the years evaporated before our eyes, and the discomfort of having to try so hard to regain the pieces of what we have lost was overwhelming at times. I’m not the same kid I used to be, and I don’t think anyone else is, either. Working on this piece of music with my friends — some of the most brilliant, stubborn, hilarious, and confounding people I’ve ever known – was not just a series of over-practiced riffs and fine-tuning choruses. Vessel was created in the face of laughter and despair. It bloomed through trust and loss. It was terrible and amazing at every turn — incomprehensibly frustrating and sometimes downright infuriating. Despite it all, I’m grateful for the chance to be a part of something that was so hard fought. It’s time to free this vessel we hold dear into the current of algorithms – it’s no longer ours now.”
Listen to Vessel in full below.
You can preorder Vessel here.
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