PRE-SAVE: Abronia - Shapes Unravel
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LISTEN/WATCH & SHARE: Abronia - "New Imposition"
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Some bands make it obvious from the first few notes—a single tone, a specific push on the tempo, the way the air moves around the instruments—and you know it's them. Abronia is one of those bands.
From the first thud of their 32-inch bass drum to the coil of pedal steel winding through the haze, the sound of this Portland-based six-piece is unmistakable. Over the past decade, Abronia has been refining their singular blend of widescreen psychedelia, desert noir, Eastern drone, avant-jazz, doom, post-punk, and acid-folk—channeling something that feels at once ritualistic and cinematic.
Today, the band is announcing their fourth studio album, Shapes Unravel. Sonically, this is Abronia’s most ambitious and compositionally daring record to date—the album moves with a strange gravitational pull, layering grief, haunted memory, and flashes of transcendence into something emotionally expansive and structurally bold. Moments of crushing weight give way to eerie stillness, held together by an urgency that feels vital, not calculated. It's a record that doesn't politely wait for your attention; it pulls you into its orbit whether you're ready or not.
Our first glimpse into Shapes Unravel is the single "New Imposition." The track opens with echoing guitar plucking and eerie pedal steel and unfolds quickly into a cinematic score, transporting you instantly into the world of Abronia.
When asked about the song, singer/saxophone player Keelin Mayer says, "Going into a Fred Meyer (Pacific Northwest one stop shopping) during the pandemic–walking around the store while your drug addicted boyfriend shove racks of ribs, ice cream and deodorant down his pants, while people are shooting up in the bathroom. We think someone steals his iPhone at the self-checkout, but it turns up shoved between two bags of chips. You only realize your boyfriend was shoplifting when he pulls the stolen things out of his pants in the car. The guilt and shame you feel as you watch so many people succumb to addiction. That Fred Meyer location is now closed because it couldn't sustain the wave of crime. Watching the fruits of unbridled capitalism and the greed of the ruling elite bloom into full technicolor. Try to run away before the wave gets you too."
Alongside the release of "New Imposition," the band is sharing a music video.
"New Imposition" is out today on all DSPs. Shapes Unravel is due for release on February 20th, 2026. |
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 | | Abronia - "New Imposition" |
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Abronia Live
2/26 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios w/ Jackie-O Motherfucker
2/27 – Seattle, WA @ Add-a-Ball w/ Jackie-O Motherfucker, Von Wildenhaus
2/28 – Bellingham, WA @ Makeshift w/ Jackie-O Motherfucker, The Sheen |
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Shapes Unravel - Tracklisting: - New Imposition
- Mirrored Ends of Light
- Weapons Against Progress
- Walker’s Dead Birds
- Gemini
- Petals and Sand
- Asleep in the Porcelain House
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Abronia is -
Keelin Mayer: Vocals, Tenor Saxophone, Flute
Rick Pedrosa: Pedal Steel, Percussion
Robert Grubaugh: Big Drum, Percussion, Melodica
Danny Metcalfe: Bass
James Shaver: Guitar
Eric Crespo: Guitar, Backing Vocals
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Abronia Bio:
From the first thud of their 32-inch bass drum to the coil of pedal steel winding through the haze, the sound of this Portland-based six-piece is unmistakable. Over the past decade, Abronia has been refining their singular blend of widescreen psychedelia, desert noir, Eastern drone, avant-jazz, doom, post-punk, and acid-folk—channeling something that feels at once ritualistic and cinematic. With pedal steel, tenor sax, guitars, bass, commanding vocals, and that ever-present oversized drum (no drum set here), their lineup alone sets them apart. But it's the way these elements cohere—graceful, unhinged, unorthodox—that makes their sound feel like its own weather system.
On Shapes Unravel, their fourth studio album, Abronia pushes deeper into both composition and feeling. The band's lineup has shifted slightly since the last one, but the chemistry remains intact. Shaver has put down the sticks and moved to guitar, Danny Metcalfe has stepped in on bass, and Robert Grubaugh (who previously filled in on a European tour with the band) has taken over on the big drum. Eric Crespo's guitar and backing vocals remain a driving force, while Rick Pedrosa continues to carve strange and searing shapes with pedal steel. Keelin Mayer’s vocals—whether leaning into viciousness or hypnotic intimacy—are a stronger force than ever, while her tenor sax and, on one song, flute (as showcased on “Gemini”) threaten to send the whole thing into the stratosphere. The addition of strings and brass brings an orchestral depth that expands their sonic language without diluting its punch.
As high-minded as all this might sound, Abronia is no academic exercise. There are hooks aplenty lurking beneath the surface complexity. And if the records draw you in, the live show hits even harder. Whether on stage in Stuttgart, British Columbia, Sabbath’s hometown of Birmingham, or somewhere in the Nevada desert, Abronia has become a formidable festival presence. You’ll see the old dude bragging about seeing Hawkwind in ’72 lined up at the merch table next to the 19-year-old who just started going to shows—both walking away with a t-shirt and a record.
Like their previous three records, this one was tracked at Portland's legendary Echo Echo studio (formerly Type Foundry). And like their previous studio album, Map of Dawn, it was mixed by Tape Op founder Larry Crane, a longtime ally of the band's sonic excavations. The band’s commitment to capturing the unfiltered, spontaneous magic of being in the room together remains a cornerstone of their sound, creating a record that is at once chaotic, controlled, and unapologetically alive.
This album feels like a culmination: the sound of a band that knows exactly who they are, yet keeps finding new corners of their own universe to explore. It's a record that hits with the force of lived experience—untamed, unsanitized, and emotionally resonant. They don't sound like anyone else—and, better yet, they don't sound like anyone else trying really hard not to sound like anyone else. Their music might not reveal itself all at once. But once it clicks, once you find yourself caught in their current, there's no mistaking what you're hearing.
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