Maybe it’s weird to say, but we’re kind of glad we’re experiencing music in a day and age where a band can make great music, go on hiatus for various reasons, then regroup for a final hurrah. Really we must mean that for closure in general’s sake, but today is the most excited we’ve been about a band we’ve missed for all too long – Fang Island.
The East Coast semi-instrumental collective was best known for their infectiously chaotic streak that often sounded like punk with no vocals, which was a fresh, visceral experience when compared to their peers. In fact, even in the new / unreleased song below, “Starquake,” takes us through a number of heartfelt young punk memories – it’s almost funny that a song that’s instrumental can accomplish it with such effect, and it’s a sincere compliment.
If you’re ready to feel some serious nostalgia, but also maybe get some closure on one of high-five hardcore’s brightest bastions, check out the video below.
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“Starquake” is as triumphant as the band has ever sounded, and even though it’s bittersweet, if the proper sendoff is this rewarding, it’s worth it. Also, speaking of worth it, the cover of the boxset looks insane, it’s like a wooden halloween mask thing that certainly sweetens the deal for longtime fans.
Here’s some more from the press release:
“Today Fang Island, the anthemic rock band from Providence, RI known for their era-defining melodic power pop, have announced a box set reissue of their entire back catalog with exclusive bonus material, out December 13th on Joyful Noise Recordings. Today the band released a video (directed by the band’s guitarist Chris Georges) for the song “Starquake” (an alternate version was released on limited edition flexi-disc via Joyful Noise in 2014).
The box set includes reissues of the two full-length LPs Fang Island and Major, a 12″ record containing EPs Day of the Great Leap, Sky Gardens and the initial demos of their first EP Doesn’t Exist. Also included is an exclusive 7″ record featuring “Starquake” b/w “Patterns on the Wall” (feat. Andrew W.K) – a song written by the band’s friend Joe Buzzell – and a full-sized poster. All the material is housed in a hand-crafted laser-etched wooden box.
Written in 2006 during the early stages of the band’s formation and recorded in 2014 in one unedited take at Silent Barn’s Gravesend Studio in Brooklyn, New York, “Starquake” bookends Fang Island’s creative existence. Band member Jason Bartell describes the song: “Despite its foreboding introduction, the track settles into a positive if frantic loop, orbiting a bolstering and reliable core. With each rotation another hooky adornment is affixed, elongating and warping the orbit until it can no longer maintain its shape, hurtling into the deep black unknown of space, only to find a harmonious new resting place.”
That is pretty fitting that it comes from that particular era of their career. Who knows, maybe if the closure goes well enough… you know what, never mind. We don’t want to jinx it. Regardless, time to save up some of that Christmas money and pre-order Doesn’t Exist II: The Complete Recordings here.
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