Like a lot of the underground bands that they take influence from, The Woolen Men are quietly prolific. Since their self-titled debut LP in 2013, the Portland group has released an acoustic live album, a regular live album, a singles and rarities comp, and two extended-plays (most recently the fantastic Rain Shapes EP, which features four little pop nuggets infectious enough to make The Clean blush).
Now approaching almost four months without any new music (gasp!), the trio is done lazing around, and has announced Temporary Monument—their second proper full-length—to be released on Woodsist this September. Along with the album announcement, we also have the first track to premiere, “After The Flood,” which takes the gentle jangle of bands like The Mantles and Television Personalities, and pairs it with the cold, hard lyrical truth of being a DIY band in the Spotify era.
With “After The Flood” soundtracking the mood, The Woolen Men have also released a poetically bleak assessment of their inspiration behind the album:
Our hometown has been buried under an avalanche of condos and pointless businesses catering to the newly rich. Noise complaints shut down our shows and pull the plug on countless DIY venues. The places where we lived are being torn down; the rent keeps climbing up. Born too soon or too late, the recession’s effect on our youth was as invisible as it it was profound.
Music today is rendered powerless—white noise made in the echo chamber, for the great Smooth Face that gazes once and moves on. So here it comes, some noise from the dustbin. The internet is sham: Temporary Monument, we made it for ourselves. Look us in the eyes and tell us you’re not getting old.
Dang, man.
Temporary Monument track list
1. Clean Dreams
2. Life In Hell
3. Alien City
4. University
5. The Desert
6. After The Flood
7. Dissolving Man
8. Temporary Monument
9. Hard Revision
10. On Cowardice
11. The Wheel
12. Walking Out
Temporary Monument is out September 4 on Woodsist.
