NYC Indie Rock Heroes The Van Pelt
Release 'Artisans & Merchants' -- First New Studio LP In Over 25 Years
"26 years since their last proper album, The Van Pelt have finally released an entire album of new music. But The Van Pelt sound just like you remember them. Artisans & Merchants has that classic Van Pelt mix of spoken word, sprawling instrumentals, and the occasional melodic singing, and these new songs carry the same emotional weight and lyrical wit as the band's classic '90s records. They truly had more to say, and they sound fantastic saying it."- BrooklynVegan
“Despite being released some 25 years after their initial split ‘Artisans & Merchants’ is a perfect reinterpretation of the band for today’s audience, containing just as much lyrical obtuseness and weirdness as ever, but not at the expense of some kick-ass indie-rock." (4/5 stars)- Upset Magazine
"The Van Pelt is back in force with their fourth full-length LP. The band was noted for their abstract lyrics and artful arrangements, and such is the case here. The music is lush and dreamy, but not typical dream pop; it’s got more of an orchestral feel. The music ebbs and flows while lyrics are sometimes sung, sometimes spoken. Listening to The Van Pelt is an immersive emotional experience."- Jersey Beat
Influential New York City indie rock band The Van Pelt has unveiled its long-awaited fourth studio full-length, 'Artisans & Merchants,' out today via Spartan Records in North America, La Castanya in Europe/World and Gringo in the UK.
The band's first studio recording in over 25 years, was recorded and mixed in Summer / Fall 2021 by Jeff Zeigler (The War On Drugs, Kurt Vile) at Uniform Recording in Philadelphia, PA, and features guest appearances by Nate Kinsella and Ted Leo among others.
Order 'Artisans & Merchants' in the Spartan Records store https://spr.tn/thevanpelt and on Bandcamp https://thevanpelt.bandcamp.com.
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""Finds the band's Slint-like mix of post-rock, post-hardcore, and spoken word in fine form. It sounds like it could be stripped straight from the band's classic '90s era, and it sounds fresh today too."- Brooklynvegan
"The lines between post-hardcore, indie rock, and emo blurred on the two mid-’90s full-lengths from the Van Pelt."- Pitchfork
"New York City’s The Van Pelt are an influential, but too often overlooked indie rock band -- cult favorites for many an emo-inclined crate digger." - Consequence
"...should be mentioned a lot more than they are when you talk about the history of emo."- Washed Up Emo
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'Artisans & Merchants' Track Listing:
1. We Gotta Leave
2. Image of Health
3. Artisans & Merchants
4. Punk House
5. Old Souls from Different Epochs
6. Grid
7. Cold Coconuts
8. Did We Hear The Same Song
9. Love Is Brutal
Reunion show soundchecks revealed that this band has a voice that was prematurely muted by their inability to see clearly in the thick of their rise.
More than two decades later, The Van Pelt has returned to explore what was left behind with a new collection of songs, 'Artisans & Merchants.' This is not a reunion album. This is vindication. For lovers of The Van Pelt, listening to 'Artisans & Merchants' is like hearing the voice of a dear friend you haven't seen in years -- a friend you used to share countless beers with over banter that went nowhere other than delivering a solid night. Your friend is older, they've changed. In some ways you're worried for them, looks like they might be teetering on the brink of something. In other ways, it's the same old them, a nugget of a soul too unique to ever be altered. It's for those unfamiliar with The Van Pelt though for whom we should be truly jealous. This is a stand-alone album, incredible vital songwriting in and of itself regardless of the long history this band has. The climax of the single "Image of Health" perhaps describes the beautiful desperation best: "And you never felt more alive / Than when the priest came to read you your rites!"
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