THE RUPERT SELECTION – CRUMBS FOR THE SUN
A SPILL EXCLUSIVE ALBUM PREMIERE
The music of The Rupert Selection often takes the listener on an expansive sonic journey. But for the Boston alt-rock and psych-grunge band, who unleash new album Crumbs for the Sun this week after an exclusive premiere by Spill Magazine, the writing and recording of the record took the trio on an extensive journey of its own.
The culmination of more than two years of creativity, Crumbs for the Sun displays The Rupert Selection as the band it was always meant to be, fueled by a locked-in lineup of founder Reilly Somach (vocals and guitar), Sam Bouvé (bass and additional vocals), and Peter W. Bartash (drums). Across its seven tracks, buoyed by an overarching lyrical theme of how unforgiving and fleeting life is, the band’s penchant for brash melodicism, seismic power riffs, and cruising-altitude rock and roll help concoct their dynamic sound and translate it from the stage to the record.
A string of four singles dating back to last fall, all of which appear on the album, helped the band earn a nomination of Rock Artist of the Year in the 2023 Boston Music Awards. Those singles (“Astronauts,” “Then Again,” “I Saw God,” and “Taking Turns”) are paired with three new songs – “Come Along,” “What You Said,” and album closer “Unbroken” – to round out Crumbs for the Sun, an apt title for a record where the pieces come together to create something uniformly impactful.
Producer Brian Charles (Zippah Recording Studio, Rare Signals) was especially instrumental in helping The Rupert Selection crystallize its vision of modern-day alternative rock, channeling the ghosts of ’90s guitar-rock luminaries but keeping the sweat and vigor of each track entrenched in modern touches of forward-motion and propulsion. There’s rarely any down time across its 32-minute run time; instead what unfolds is a cohesive passage through the band’s kaleidoscopic sense of creativity.
Though The Rupert Selection have a penchant for rocking out and riding an extended groove across its compositions, two of the songs on Crumbs for the Sun clock in at under three minutes (“I Saw God” and “Then Again”). But elsewhere, the trio stretches things out a bit, leaning into the colorful psychedelia that defines their sound, with new tracks like the yearning “Come Along” and crunching “Unbroken” blasting out past the seven-minute mark.
“Come Along,” in particular, finds The Rupert Selection at perhaps their most ambitious, a daydream racer that slowly builds from an ethereal atmospheric ballad to a swirling psych cruiser that rides higher than a skyscraper, complete with violin by Anika Thomas and cello by Matt McDonnell. In fact, “Come Along” could be a defining song from the record, as it was one of the first songs the band wrote and started recording but also the last to finish. Among the other new tracks, the punchy “What You Said” was written together during recording sessions and added to the album mix, and “Unbroken” is a Rupert Selection live staple that was finally brought to the studio.
They’re all presented here, the way the band fully intended, on Crumbs for the Sun. Listen in below.
CREDITS
All music written by The Rupert Selection
All lyrics written by Reilly Somach
Produced and mixed by Brian Charles
Mastered by Alex Psaroudakis
Additional engineering by Annie Hoffman
Recorded at Zippah Studios, New Alliance Audio, Mad Oak Studios,
Q Division Studios, and Rare Signals
Violin on “Come Along” by Anika Thomas
Cello on “Come Along” by Matt McDonnell
Album art by Crystal Araiza
ARTIST QUOTE
“The title, Crumbs for the Sun, has been kicking around for years and we all agreed it just felt right for this one early on. Since this album was recorded at different places and at different times, it now feels like a collection of snapshots that, when together, tell the story of the last two years. Scattered crumbs that build to something bigger.” ~Reilly Somach (guitars and vocals)
The Rupert Selection
Crumbs For The Sun
(Independent)
Release Date: November 14, 2023
Artist Links
SPILL ALBUM PREMIERE: TAYLOR ACORN – GREENER (ACOUSTIC)
SPILL ALBUM PREMIERE: FACT PATTERN – THE SAME OUTCOME
SPILL ALBUM PREMIERE: MADAME PSYCHOSIS – MP3
SPILL ALBUM PREMIERE: PYPY – SACRED TIMES
