DOWNLOAD: Waters - "O Holy Break of Day" (Waters - Out In The Light is out 9/20)

Photo credit: Ashlie and Amber Chavez
Waters is the new project from ex-Port O'Brien front man Van Pierszalowski.

Following the demise of that band last year, he took a break from making music and ended up living in Oslo, Norway. After some time off, he began writing again, then traveled most of the next year to Alaska, California, and Brooklyn, NY, before returning to Oslo to record the album with a band he put together. These new songs he wrote veered away from the frequently loose, punchy anthems of Port O’Brien, and as he intensively pieced each one together, he sought a bigger sound – something louder than he could play on his own. So Van returned to Oslo, where his new journey had begun. He put together a band of fine Norwegian gentlemen and spent every day of the next two months rehearsing in a small practice space outside of the city.

This band went with Van to Dallas, Texas, to record with producer John Congleton. Over a brief 10-day recording session in April, Congleton – who has worked on some of Van’s favorite albums (by artists including St. Vincent, Bill Callahan, and yes, R. Kelly) – kept the production stark, maintaining the songs’ intimacy and emotional intensity. Out In The Light has a louder, fuller, more aggressive and raw sound than any of Van’s earlier works. It’s a mix of fuzzy, pealing guitars and crashing drums, and easy, alternately soaring and languid, indelible melodies.

According to Van, “The record is about waking up. It is about getting out of a situation that seems endless, and realizing you’re not too old to make dramatic and sudden changes in your life. It is about starting over.”

WATERS TOUR DATES
AUG 11 -- DAVIS, CA, SOPHIA’S THAI KITCHEN*
AUG 18 -- PORTLAND, OR, BRANX#
AUG 19 -- VANCOUVER, BC, BILLMORE CABARET#
AUG 20 -- SEATTLE, WA, CHOP SUEY#
AUG 22 SAN FRANCISCO, CA, THE INDEPENDENT#
AUG 24 -- SALT LAKE CITY, UT, KILBY COURT#
AUG 25 -- DENVER, CO, HI DIVE#
AUG 27 -- LAWRENCE, KS, THE BOTTLENECK#
AUG 28 -- NORMAN, OK, OPOLIS#
AUG 29 -- DENTON, TX, HAILEY’S#
AUG 30 -- AUSTIN, TX, THE MOHAWK#
SEPT 1 -- PHOENIX, AZ, RHYTHM ROOM#
SEPT 2 -- SAN DIEGO, CA, BAR PINK#
* supporting Vetiver
# supporting Mister Heavenly

Links:
Waters