Rogue Wave are thrilled to announce they will release their fifth studio album, Nightingale Floors, on June 4th via Vagrant Records. This release follows the band’s 2010 album Permalight, and finds the group secure in its sound and brimming with confidence. The result can only be described as a triumphant return to form.
Meditations on life and death dominate Nightingale Floors, in large part because Zach Rogue’s father passed away during the writing of the record. But far from being a downer, Rogue has used the experience to find peace and, ultimately, happiness in facing up to the short time we have on Earth and appreciate everything around him. Much has been written about Rogue Wave’s misfortune over the years, and it’s true that for such a nice bunch of guys, they certainly have had their fair share of bad luck. Rogue points out, “Everyone has drama in their life. Everyone’s experienced life and death and injury. Maybe us a little bit more, I don’t know. I’ve always joked with Pat: ‘Everything is trying to kill us, but we’re still here.’”
Rogue Wave tapped Release The Sunbird’s mixer John Congleton (whose impressive résumé includes Modest Mouse, The Walkmen, David Byrne & St. Vincent, and Explosions In The Sky) to produce the record just north of Oakland at Cotati’s Prairie Sun Recording Studios. With the assistance of touring bassist Masanori Mark Christianson, Peter Wolf Crier’s Peter Pisano (guitar), Sea Of Bees’ Jules Baenziger (vocals), and Mwahaha’s Ross Peacock (synth manipulation), Rogue, Spurgeon, and Christianson channeled their energies into 10 smart, dynamic songs that range from opener “No Magnatone” and its dreamy washes of sound to the big, catchy rock of “College” to the gentle “The Closer I Get” to the moody yet epic closer “Everyone Wants To Be You.” The music is as thoughtfully conceived as you’d expect from Rogue Wave, and there’s an emotional energy behind the tracks that lingers on long after the album’s last note.
“The thing I like about the new album is I can envision playing all of the songs live,” says Rogue. “For Permalight, it was like, ‘How will we do this?’ That’s not a good sign. For this, it’s like, ‘How are we going to play all of them?’ And that’s exciting.”
Nightingale Floors Tracklisting:
1. No Magnatone
2. College
3. Figured It Out
4. Siren’s Song
5. The Closer I Get
6. S(a)tan
7. Used To It
8. Without Pain
9. When Sunday Morning Comes
10. Everyone Wants to Be You