Overlake announces new LP ‘Fall’ + stream ‘Winter Is Why’

Overlake

OverlakeOverlake has announced their sophomore LP, ‘Fall,’ due out May 12th via Bar/None Records. A follow-up to the band’s 2014 debut ‘Sighs,’ it features eight tracks of noisy, reverb-drenched dream-pop that draw influence from ’90s favorites like My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, and Yo La Tengo while still maintaining a modern vibe. The album was recorded and co-produced by Tom Beaujour (Nada Surf, Jennifer O’Connor.)

For a first taste of the record, the band is sharing lead single Winter Is Why, which opens with a wailing guitar riff before charging full speed ahead with driving percussion, hazy layers of instrumentation, and a chorus that features intertwining vocals from frontman Thomas Barrett and bassist Lysa Opfer. You can stream the track via Soundcloud below.

Based in Jersey City, NJ, Overlake was formed in 2012 by Barrett and Opfer, who were playing in a local hard-rock band at the time. Their musical kinship grew organically — as the two stayed behind at practices to jam as a duo — and after a seemingly endless Spinal Tap-like run of fill-ins and hopeful permanents, the band’s current lineup was rounded out in 2015 by drummer Nick D’Amore. They’ve toured the US extensively over the past few years, captivating audiences with their enveloping wall of sound (and often with amplifiers draped in Christmas lights.)

‘Fall’ builds upon the sound that Overlake introduced fans to with their debut release: a massive mix of heavily delayed guitars, driving bass lines, and propulsive percussion, all topped off with airy vocals etherial harmonies. The album is peppered with hints of sparse piano and mournful violin, courtesy of Claudia Chopek (who has appeared on recordings by Norah Jones, TV On The Radio, Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger & more.) There’s a series of sonic and lyrical shifts throughout the record, as notes bend and boomerang and themes transform, mutate, and make reoccuring appearances. What begins as a period morphs into a question mark, and ultimately leaves listeners with an open-ended ellipsis.

 

 

Track listing

1. Unnamed November
2. Winter Is Why
3. You Don’t Know Everything
4. Can Never Tell
5. Gardener’s Bell
6. And Again
7. Pines On A Beach
8. Goodbye

Overlake will tour in April (dates TBA) and will play a record release show at NYC’s Mercury Lounge on May 12th.