After announcing a hiatus in 2011, theNEWDEAL returned to the scene just a couple years ago. The group wasted no time finding their form, bringing an exciting livetronica energy wherever they go. Backed by the virtuosic talents of founding members Jamie Shields (keys), Dan Kurtz (bass) and new drummer Joel Stouffer, the definitive new sound of theNEWDEAL comes to a head on Mercury Switch, the band’s first studio release in over a decade.
Speaking about the new release, Shields said in a statement, “I think we’ve come up with a way to take the best from both the live and studio worlds and make something that’s going to have the energy of a live show, but shaped in a way we could only do in the studio.” From the first notes of opening track, “Dark One,” it’s clear that this is a special release.
Light synthesizers emerge from an open soundscape, only to be accompanied by an incredibly funky bassline. As all seven tracks on Mercury Switch are instrumentals, the trio relies heavily on sweeping effects and production efforts to keep the music grooving. Stouffer drives the jam from behind the kit, while Shields experiments through various melodies and effects. With Kurtz holding down the tune like a rock, it’s evident that these songs are meant to take you on a journey, while keeping you dancing all the while.
While the majority of the album is fast-paced and high-energy, songs like “Eazy Lazy” slow things down for a more contemplative, minor-key approach. Meanwhile, tracks like “Very Good Then” and title track “Mercury Switch” are longer compositions, weaving through various segments to maximize the momentum. Dan Kurtz goes a bit more in depth about the band’s new approach to making the music for Mercury Switch.
“In the last few months we’ve been pushing ourselves to work with new sounds, new styles, new ways of arranging jams, and the stuff we’ve come up with has felt great and exciting to us as a result. We’re listening back to the board tapes of all the shows and finding the parts, even if they’re just a couple of seconds long, that sound the most inspiring and then building studio recordings around them. In some cases we’ll glue a bit from one show in one city to another completely unrelated piece from another town, and create something we’d never have come up with in either just a live or just a studio setting.”
The result is an album that defines theNEWDEAL in 2016. Mercury Switch was released on March 4th, and can be purchased via iTunes and more. For everything tND, head to the band’s official website. Stream the band’s leading single “Quattro,” which premiered on L4LM, right here.