In the mood for a brand of hardcore that’s undeniably awesome in its traditional elements, but also deeply melodic and melancholic? The you need to hear Defeater‘s fourth album, Abandoned, right now! The Boston-based band will release the album on August 28th, but you can stream it in the player above or on Defeater’s official site.
For more info on the content and theme of the album, take a peak at the press release below:
Unlike most bands – Defeater don’t write songs so much as they write histories, and specifically the history of a never-named New Jersey family whose already troubled lives disintegrate into torment, rendered all the more tragic for the depth and detail of singer Derek Archambault’s lyrics. Abandoned was written and recorded in a welcome period of relief in Archambault’s life, after he’d finally received a life-changing surgery that repaired severe hip damage he suffered in an injury. For years, chronic pain had been constricting his life, interfering with Defeater’s performances and tours. Archambault’s surgery, he says, allowed him to redouble his connection with his own writing, leaving him clear to truly inhabit what he calls his own Glass family—after the famous J.D. Salinger characters.
The pain his characters feel comes from pain he’s witnessed or experienced, and the unexplainable event that triggers the story of Abandoned—the action of a higher power or just chance, says Archambault. And his main character’s agonizing relationship with that higher power—and the very question of the existence was born from Archambault’s own disillusionment with church as a child.
But Abandoned isn’t just some heavy-handed polemic against religion, explains Archambault. (“And I’m not trying to paint everyone as martyrs,” he adds. “Pun intended for this record.”) Instead, it’s a way to use religion—as well as drugs, alcohol, and even fleeting moments of love. Says Archambault: “This is my ending metaphor for life—it’s about how people constantly look for answers for their questions in all the wrong places.
Pre-orders for Abandoned are available on CD and vinyl here. Defeater will tour this fall in support of the new album. Full tour dates listed below.
Defeater U.S. Tour Dates:
09-01 Grog Shop – Cleveland Heights, OH
09-02 Shelter – Detroit, MI
09-03 The Bottom Lounge – Chicago, IL
09-04 Triple Rock Social Club – Minneapolis, MN
09-05 The Firebird -St. Louis, MO
09-06 The Waiting Room – Omaha, NE
09-08 Marquis Theater – Denver, CO
09-09 The Complex – Salt Lake City, UT
09-11 The Crocodile – Seattle, WA
09-12 Hawthorne Theater- Portland, OR
09-14 The Boardwalk – Orangevale, CA
09-15 Epicentre – San Diego, CA
09-16 Chain Reaction – Anaheim, CA
09-17 Chain Reaction – Anaheim, CA
09-18 Club Red – Tempe, AZ
09-19 The Works – Albuquerque, NM
09-21 Gas Monkey – Dallas, TX
09-22 Red 7 – Austin, TX
09-23 Warehouse Live – Houston, TX
09-25 The Social – Orlando, FL
09-26 O’Malley’s – Margate, FL
09-27 Local 662 – St. Petersburg, FL
09-28 The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
09-29 Exit/In – Nashville, TN
09-30 Headliners – Louisville, KY
10-01 The Altar Bar – Pittsburgh, PA
10-02 Rock & Roll Hotel – Washington, DC
10-03 Shakas Live – Virginia Beach, VA
10-04 Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA
10-06 Gramercy Theater – New York, NY
10-07 The Chance Theatre – Poughkeepsie, NY
10-10 The Waiting Room – Buffalo, NY
10-11 The Middle East – Cambridge, MA
Rock Hard \m/
