News

SVALBARD premiere second track from upcoming album, ‘When I Die, Will I Get Better?’

Photo credit: Tim Birkbeck

SVALBARD have released the second track from their upcoming album When I Die, Will I Get Better?, due out via Holy Roar Records on September 25. The track, titled Listen To Someone, is streaming everywhere now, and an accompanying video has premiered via Revolver. Having lost none of their gut-punching energy, on their new album the four-piece have redefined post-metal and delivered an emotive opus for the ages; an eight track anthology of personal and societal highs and lows.  Pre-orders for When I Die, Will I Get Better? are available now

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR LISTEN TO SOMEONE VIA REVOLVER

Of the track, vocalist Serena Cherry explains the need to “do more than simply encourage people who suffer from depression to ‘talk to someone'”. She goes into further detail of the song’s origins in a statement given to Revolver. Each track on the album tells a tale, putting one topic or one incident under Cherry’s thoughtful gaze; she picks at the scabs to reveal another raw piece of the overall creative puzzle beneath. Written across several months in 2019 and early 2020 the chronology takes a myriad of twists and turns, through inner turmoil, personal reflection, and external observations.

The shimmering guitars lend an expansive and bittersweet sound to the songs, reminiscent of the likes of Envy, Alcest and Oathbreaker. Having polished up a few of the rougher edges found on earlier releases, the overall sound is one of a band hitting a more mature stride whilst retaining the vibrancy that makes them so unique, both live and on record. 

Taking the title from a stumbled-upon book (which features an apt subtitle of ‘A Book About Healing’), SVALBARD have designated a triple-pronged meaning to the words. One interpretation being the feeling of struggling with mental health and leaning towards wondering if death might be a cure for the inescapable pain. A second elucidation being the phenomenon of people being put upon a pedestal after death, something particularly prevalent in celebrity culture. The third relates to the idea of heaven; of people believing in the bribe that they will be rewarded in the afterlife for behaving a certain way during their time on earth. The amalgamation of these three threads creates a tapestry of emotions hung on the framework of one of the most essential albums of 2020.

When I Die, Will I Get Better?

  1. Open Wound
  2. Click Bait
  3. Throw Your Heart Away
  4. Listen To Someone
  5. Silent Restraint
  6. What Was She Wearing
  7. The Currency of Beauty
  8. Pearlescent

SVALBARD is:
Serena Cherry – Vocals, Lead Guitar
Liam Phelan – Vocals, Guitars, Rhodes
Alex Heffernan – Bass
Mark Lilley – Drums

Lyrics by Serena Cherry

Produced, Engineered and Mastered by Lewis Johns.  Recorded at The Ranch Production House, February 2020.

Artwork by Steven Kingscote

When I Die, Will I Get Better? is released via Translation Loss in North America. 

Related posts

SVALBARD – Release video for ‘To Wilt Beneath The Weight’

KMN

SVALBARD – new album ´The Weight Of The Mask´is out now

KMN

SVALBARD – Release melancholic composition ‘HOW TO SWIM DOWN’

KMN

Leave a Comment

By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. Accept Read More