London-based indie-rock quintet Tempesst have announced their debut album ‘Must Be A Dream’ will be released on September 30th, via Pony Recordings. Along with the album announcement, the band have also released the album’s first single On The Run, alongside a candid studio video directed by the band’s very own Andy Banjanin.
A vivid, expansive sample of the band’s upcoming full length; On The Run and the forthcoming album follow Tempesst’s two previously released EP’s ‘Adult Wonderland’ and ‘Doomsday’, both widely lauded for their ’60s and ’70s influenced indie-psych fusion.
On new single On The Run, the band layer vocal harmonies on top of reverb heavy instrumentation orchestrated far and wide into a massive psychedelic pop exploration. It’s all brought back to earth by Tempesst vocalist Toma Banjanin’s slithering baritone and stories of death, substance abuse and the loss of innocence forever.
Speaking on the new single, singer Toma shared: “On The Run was written about a close friend who disappeared for a decade and returned as someone completely different, and it’s an ongoing trauma. When I connected the music to the lyrics to try and finish the song, it felt like it had a rolling rhythm, so the chorus fell into place from there. For me, this song carries a lot more emotional weight.”
Check out the video clip for On The Run via YouTube below.
Consisting of Sunshine Coast, Australia born twin brothers Toma (vocals, guitars) and Andy Banjanin (drums); the band is rounded out by fellow Australian’s Kane Reynolds (keys) and Blake Misipeka (bass), and Swiss/American guitarist Eric Weber. Now all residing in London where upcoming debut album ‘Must Be A Dream’ was written and recorded, Tempesst have become well known for their sweeping, psych-touched indie rock.
Produced by longstanding collaborator Elliot Heinrich, and mixed by Claudius Mittendorfer (known for his work with Parquet Courts, Temples, Yak, and Sorry), ‘Must Be A Dream’ came together at the band’s very own Pony Studios, a studio space that Tempesst built themselves in Hackney, East London. A massive step forward from their previous short format releases, ‘Must Be A Dream’ is a wide-eyed excursion of folk-tinged psychedelia with nods to Spiritualized, Galaxie 500, the Flaming Lips and the Beach Boys.
Ten tracks of psychedelic pop grandiosity, combining the classic teachings of Laurel Canyon-esque folk harmonization with bombastic sensibilities found in the works of Love, ELO, Pink Floyd, Wings and more. ‘Must Be A Dream’ is a paradox of complexity and musical prowess shrouded beneath deceivingly simple pop melodies, producing a dense, sun-kissed record that explores themes of identity, purpose, ageing, love, loss, substance abuse, the death of loved ones and remembering the beauty beneath it all.
‘Must Be A Dream’ track list
1. Better Than The Devil
2. Must Be A Dream
3. High On My Own
4. Mushroom Cloud
5. Walk On The Water
6. On The Run
7. Age Of The Bored
8. With A Woman
9. Is This All That There Is?
10. Voices In My Head
Tempesst’s new single On The Run is out now, released June 17th. Debut album ‘Must Be A Dream’ is released September 30th via Pony Recordings.
