Humdrum shares third & final single from debut LP, out soon on Slumberland Records
VIDEO: "Eternal Blue" -
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Today Chicago indiepop band Humdrum, led by Loren Vanderbilt, shares the final single from its debut LP Every Heaven, out October 18 on the legendary Slumberland Records - you can pre-order the LP right HERE. Vanderbilt gives some background on "Eternal Blue":
"The bassline really kicked off what would become 'Eternal Blue', I liked the groove and found myself locked-in, playing it on loop and kinda dancing to myself trying to figure out where to take it. I was working on it at home and brought it to the practice room one day with a drum machine beat, and the other elements just kinda fell into place from there. The song is about the suffocating isolation of loneliness and believing that you can only be resuscitated by true love. The name was nicked from a 90s video game that I still haven't managed to play but I always was fond of the title, Lunar: Eternal Blue. I have no idea what the 'Eternal Blue' is a reference to in that game, but to me and this song it's the blue of a sky with no horizon, maybe of heaven, and it represents the beautiful parts of the universe we live in.”
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When the world — and his previous band Star Tropics — crumbled in the early days of the pandemic, Chicago's Loren Vanderbilt began rebuilding himself through song. Daydreaming to the chime of IRS-era R.E.M., Felt, The Railway Children, New Order, and 90's staples like Ride, Pale Saints and Slowdive, he fell backwards in time through records as a means of escape. To break away from the present and embrace the nostalgia of musical eras gone by, Loren formed Humdrum — a band built around his favorite elements of dreampop, indiepop, shoegaze, and new wave.
On his debut album, Every Heaven, Loren establishes himself as a talented songwriter across 10 tracks brimming with jangly guitars and lovelorn vocals—all punctuated by the pulse of a driving beat. Slated for release by Slumberland Records on September 20, 2024, Every Heaven is Humdrum's first collection of songs, presented on teal blue vinyl manufactured at Chicago's own Smashed Plastic Record Pressing plant.
The album's opener (and eponymous track) invites the listener in, with each guitar riff and beat slowly falling into place. As the gate is opened and disappears behind you, a new world is revealed of cascading pastel-colored reverb and the hum of guitar amps eager to feedback. The sound can be described as celebratory and introspective in a way that feels both familiar and unexpected.
A deeper listen reveals a juxtaposition between the album's carefree melodies, and its sobering truths about the life, loss, and questions of being a queer 30-something artist. In the song "There and Back Again," Loren references the final Sarah Records release to catalog the on-again-off-again moments of a relationship with the lines, "Will we make it ‘round the bend / or are we too tried to be true?". The following track, "Superbloom," is far more romantic in its playful optimism, as Loren sings, "In the heavens where you run to / I'll be running right beside you / don't you wanna run away with me too?"
Ultimately, Every Heaven centers around departure and return, the devastation of loss and the hope for renewal. The pause between heartbeats for some may be an instant. For others, it can feel long and silent, and if they are lucky, the next beat arrives on time, springing them back to life. Humdrum is this moment for Loren. With Every Heaven he has presented 10 songs that speak to life's dynamic moments, and he can't wait for you to hear them.
Humdrum
Every Heaven
(Slumberland Records)
[click here to pre-order]
Street Date: Oct. 18, 2024
Track List:
01 Every Heaven
02 There And Back Again
03 Superbloom
04 Wave Goodbye
05 Test of Time
06 See Through You
07 Eternal Blue
08 Ultraviolet
09 Come And Get Me
10 Underneath The Sky
HUMDRUM LINKS:
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