FOR FANS OF: The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Cocteau Twins, Sisters of Mercy, The Joy Formidable and Republica

“autumn’s music sounds as fresh as ever. The first two tracks ‘the fall’ and ‘before and after’ underline the dark emotional underbelly of alternative music, finding a sweet spot between post-punk, ethereal wave, and shimmery goth rock. William Faith’s ‘Broken RmX’ transforms the ‘the fall’ into a dancefloor-friendly track reminiscent of upbeat offerings from Garbage, Republica and Sleeper” – Big Takeover Magazine

“Somewhere between Siouxsie and The Banshees shimmering textures and elegant vocals, The Cure’s otherness and Bauhaus’ brooding sense of doom… never has a band blended pop infectiousness and rock grandeur in such a dark and dramatic way. Well, not for very long.” – Dancing About Architecture

Chicago’s newly-formed Sett Records is releasing ‘chandelier’, the third full-length by Minneapolis-based trio autumn, who, in their 20 plus years, have always made a big sound. Ahead of that release and on the trail of their 3-track single ‘the fall’, released in November 2017, the new single ‘Beginnings’ is being previewed. The band just wrapped up a successful tour with legendary 4AD artists Clan of Xymox.

Autumn is Julie Plante (vocals), Jeff Leyda (bass), and Neil McKay (guitars). Forming in Minneapolis in 1994, autumn has always sought to create melodies that get the listener to feel something deeply, that have the ability to haunt you in some way after the fact. The band released two albums on Tess Records – ‘the hating tree’ (1996) and ‘return to the breath’ (1999), with accompanying tours in support of each album before taking an extended hiatus.

Time, and perhaps fortune, brought them back to the source, each looking to express that nameless feeling that drew them together so many years previous. In 2016, a plan was hatched, and they contacted producer William Faith (Faith and the Muse, Christian Death, The March Violets, The Bellwether Syndicate), who produced autumn’s debut album with the idea to bring the home team back together to produce something new, with a bit of old world charm.

‘chandelier’ is the band’s new 14-song album, produced by William Faith and released on Sett Records. The album, collected from songs written and developed over a 20-year period, displays an impressive range of mood, style and atmosphere, with Neil McKay’s signature guitars laying melody after haunting melody over the top of Jeff Leyda’s solid and nuanced bass, while Julie Plante’s soaring vocals bind the entire work in place with a powerful lyrical narrative of love, loss, hope and resilience.

Kicking it all off is the uplifting ‘beginnings’ with its psych-pop flavored guitars and insistent beat as Plante’s vocals bring us into the moment: “and here is the only place I want to be, we are near to the earth now”. The album’s single ‘the fall’ shines as ever, delivering on the promise of the album it foreshadowed. ‘from under the waves’ brings a shift in mood and style as the band stretch out into minimal electronica, before ‘damage’ draws us back into that moment of dissolution, when two become one: “but now our dream’s come undone, crashing around me, here comes another one, till all the remains is a life in flame, what does it matter who is to blame?”

the piano and voice ‘just before the storm’ is perhaps the album’s most fragile moment, with Plante allowing herself great vulnerability in a tale of loss and moving on. Lyrics “all my progress comes undone with the sway of the pendulum, but my fears remain” provides a testament to picking yourself up and carrying on in ‘shadowgirl 2’, full of classic British alt-rock guitars and the push-and-pull tension of the bass and drums supporting the lyric to great effect.

‘my last confession’ sparkles with another burst of classic synths and retro-drum machine precision. ‘a vow worth keeping’ erupts with powerful rock guitar energy, adding yet another layer of sonic and stylistic depth to the album, before ‘chandelier’ brings us to the album’s close, at its lyrical zenith of gratitude and hope in the words “we’ll shine for all the world a living chandelier”.

“This release is about transition, both for the band’s sound as well as our personal lives; love, loss, hope. The sound is more refined yet diverse in delivery styles. It appears the band had a few more things left to say, and our voices seem a little more confident this time around,” says bassist Jeff Leyda.

Between the lost promises of summer and the bitter austerity of winter lives the time between; the shorter, pallid days, the dying leaves, the melancholic reflection of time as it passes… This pensive time between has been evoked and pondered in the words of poets ranging from Yeats to Keats, and once again it finds sublime expression in the lush, passionate, melodic, dark pop of autumn.

autumn ‘chandelier’ is being made available on regular online stores and streaming platforms, including their own Bandcamp.