Pert Near Sandstone will independently release their newly announced album, Waiting Days on October 20. The Minneapolis/St. Paul-based string band also confirmed new tour dates in support of the album that features the lead single, “All Waves Break.”
The 11 songs on Waiting Days were written by the group’s primary songwriters and vocalists, bassist Justin Bruhn, banjo player Kevin Kniebel, guitarist J Lenz and Nate Sipe who plays mandolin, steel guitars and fiddle. The album also features “recent inclusion to the outfit,” fiddler Chris Forsberg, and frequent collaborator Matt Cartier on clogs.
Another fiddler, Trampled by Turtles’ Ryan Young, recorded and mixed Waiting Days, which marks the fourth album engineered by the original Pert Near member. Recording sessions were held in the cold of a Midwest winter at Young’s NeonBrown Recording Studio in Crystal, Minnesota.
“I’ve been recording Pert Near Sandstone since 2004 when I’d set up some mics to record our practices,” Young revealed. “I feel like we know each other really well and I know what kind of sounds they are going for. Some songs call for a stripped-down feel of friends playing folk music together in a living room, and others are more elaborate with influences from metal to electronic music to rock and more.”
The album features Young (fiddle, organ, percussion) on a few tracks, as well as contributions from Sean Roderick on piano, Andy Lambert on washboard and drums/percussion, Jason Marks on trumpet, Chris Bruhn on guitar and additional vocals provided by Anna Mason, Del Kniebel, Lena Kniebel, Lisanne Bogaard and Katie Bellville.
Pre-save Waiting Days on Spotify and pre-save the lead single “All Waves Break” before its official release on Friday, August 11. The song, written by bassist Justin Bruhn, premieres here with an accompanying lyric video. Regarding the poignant “All Waves Break,” Bruhn told JamBase:
“This song is deeply personal and reflects, in large part, anxieties about my own personal life and the lives we are living as a collective human whole. It also speaks to my insecurities, my constant belief that the grass is always greener on the other side and my general sense of lack despite having so much.
“As for the lyrical imagery, I love water. Waves on the ocean shore are hypnotic to me. I remember specifically a recent tour to Oregon where I was transfixed. I love it. I can also breathe underwater in my dreams. It is both exciting and tense when it happens. I’m sometimes in the dark left only with my own mind in those dreams. I’m left thinking this…
“What happens in the silence and dark of the deep? I explore my surroundings and my mind. I am alone and looking through its doors. Somehow unfamiliar with its rooms. Memories behind one, regrets in another, optimism behind another. For better or worse. Is the pressure of the deep too much? Am I riding too high on a wave about to break? How can I go on as I am? Will I always be searching for change? Can anyone ever be satisfied with their current state? There is one thing I’m certain of, though. It is important to recognize the love within yourself and put it out in the world as much as you can. Thanks for listening.”
Watch the “All Waves Break” lyric video premiere below:
Pert Near Sandstone also confirmed new tour dates leading up to and following the release of Waiting Days. The band heads to South Dakota for shows in Sioux Falls on August 17 and in Custer on August 18, followed by a stop in Livingston, Montana on August 19.
The quintet will stay close to home for a show in St. Paul on September 16. They will stay in the region for performances in Appleton, Wisconsin on September 21 and at the Boats and Bluegrass Festival in Winona, Minnesota on September 22.
Pert Near Sandstone will set out for a run through Kansas City and Columbia, Missouri on October 4 and October 5 ahead of an appearance on October 7 at Cave Fest in Pelham, Tennessee. The band then heads west to play in Bend, Oregon on October 19 on the eve of the release of Waiting Days. Release day itself will see them heading to a gig that night in Portland. Stops in Centralia, Washington on October 21 and in Seattle on October 22 round out the West Coast swing.
Pert Near will appear on November 3 at LaCrosse, Wisconsin’s Midwest Music Fest. They will then stop in Lincoln, Nebraska on November 8 en route to Colorado for shows in Ft. Collins on November 9, in Boulder on November 10 and in Denver on November 11.
Rounding out Pert Near Sandstone’s current touring schedule are shows in Ames, Iowa on November 30 and in Mankato, Minnesota on December 1, as well as a hometown concert at First Avenue in Minneapolis on December 2.
Waiting Days Tracklist
- I’ve Been Traveling
- All Waves Break
- Out Of Time
- Who To Choose
- End Of The Line
- Waiting Days
- Clouds Are Gathering
- Soo Line
- Believe
- On To Dawn
- Lay Down Your Burdens
