The Making Of Rogue Wave's Asleep At Heaven's Gate (And Album Art)
Heaven's Gate was one of the more interesting contemporary cults -- crazy-eyed bald leader, UFO fixations, and fab outfits (black 'n' white Nikes, sweats, armbands emblazoned "Heaven's Gate Away Team" when the 39 members were found dead in a San Diego mansion). Of course, Heaven's gate is also some kind of place -- the entranceway into an Afterlife and all that... Oakland quartet Rogue Wave, led by the inimitably named Zach Rogue, are releasing their third album Asleep At Heaven's Gate in September. Judging from the darkly golden cover art (found after the jump), maybe they're playing off both: Could be tacky bed sheets, a hood, the detail of homemade grillz, a conceptual echo of the Heaven's Gate logo. Are we blowing your mind?
Or maybe you think we're crazy. But the opening footage of The Making Of Asleep At Heaven's Gate has a rather cultish feel, no? Yup, more than a dozen folks -- including a cool baby -- tapping out a pulsing acoustic, wind, 'n' toy orchestra at the direction of frizz-haired drummer Pat Spurgeon. But, really, the video's more about the direction Rogue Wave took with the new album: That's right, reintroducing guitar solos into indie rock.
The Interviews and song snippets are hinting at maturity, right? Though, that shouldn't be a surprise: Last year Spurgeon received a new kidney, keyboardist Gram Lebron's father died, Rogue had a daughter, and the band welcomed a new bassist into the fold (Patrick Abernethy, ex-Beulah); that's a lot of life to go down. Anyway, the Rogue Wavers are heading on the road with everyone's favorite LG spokeswoman Feist -- you'll find those dates below. But first, your Asleep At Heaven's Gate album art.
TOUR DATES W/FEIST
09/09 - Burlington, VT @ Flynn Theatre
09/11 - Baltimore , MD @ Ram's Head Live
09/12 - Upper Darby, PA @ Tower Theatre
09/13 - Pittsburgh PA @ Carnegie Music Hall
09/15 - Ann Arbor, MI @ Michigan Theatre
Make sure to wear your Nikes and sweats.
Asleep At Heaven's Gate on 9/18 via Brushfire Records.
Posted at 10:12 AM in Album Art, Tour Dates, Video
Tags: Rogue Wave
Good job getting through this article without mentioning the whole ritual castration thing even once!
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if you can judge an album by it's cover... dear lord, rogue wave has jumped the shark.
they should have resigned with subpop.
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They also have an October 12th gig at Bimbo's in San Francisco. (Tickets go on sale Sunday).
Chris Walla seems to think the new Rogue Wave is "inspired and beautiful":
http://www.hallofjusticerecording.com/words.html
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Wow, never heard the Rouge Wave left SubPop for Brushfire records. I hope their new album isn't as boring as their labelmates' records.
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Mercy Fox: you're a jackass.
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Their cover of Buddy Holly's "Everyday" should've been on that 100 Best Covers list. Maybe the best thing I've ever heard from this band actually.
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Adrian? Are you sure you're not really Zach "Rogue"?
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I think Mercy Fox nailed it! I'm willing to bet that Rogue Wave didn't "leave" Sub Pop but that the label was not interested in resigning them. Smart move!
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God, I really hope that cover art is a fake. Is it a crinkled up candy bar wrapper? The whole thing must've taken about four minutes.
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when is this badboy gonna leak already?
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I can't wait for the new Rogue Wave album. Its going to rock! Pretty weird album art, though. looks like a piece of crinkled up wax paper
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why do people care about this band?
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Since when does the album art have anything to do with the album quality? Have you SEEN the last two New Pornographers albums? But "Twin Cinema" turned out to be an awesome album, and I have no reason to doubt "Challengers", nor do I for "Asleep At Heavens Gate." I heard some of the new stuff live, and it sounded pretty fantastic to me. Be on the lookout for track 4, "Lake Michigan;" I'm already in love.
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What a douche bag! Please stop making records.
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Album art doesn't really have anything to do with the music. However, if the new music is what's playing in the background of this video, then I'll save my money. Meh!
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Ladies and Gents, welcome Maroon 5! Uh, I mean Lifehouse. Fall Out Boy?
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That album cover looks like it belongs in Goodwill's record bin. Horribly un-interesting.
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rogue wave are awesome. can't wait for this record.
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rogue wave is boring and even more boring live.
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Can anyone else not get the last 1:49 of the movie to play?
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You really want to watch the remaining 1:49 of this shit?
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Why is everyone on Stereogum so full of hate?
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The new album is great. Pat is right when he says that you'll hear different things every time you play it. I think it will grow on a lot of people. It might not grab you as strongly at first, but this one rewards repeated listens.
I must say the cover art is a bit of a letdown. That said, I usually listen to an album, not stare at its cover.
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This band is terrific live and on CD. I've always compared them to the Shins--but without Zach Braff's support. I'm really looking forward to this CD.
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Are you kidding? The Shins are 1000x better than Rogue Wave will ever be! Rogue Wave needs Zach Braff's support more than ever now that Sub Pop ditched them!
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yeah, i've had the album advance for a little over a month now and it's a FANTASTIC record! but i agree that i'm horribly disappointed with the artwork. did the label not have the cash to hire a legit designer?!
and yeah i don't sit around staring at album covers either, but i have an iphone, which displays artwork almost fullscreen, so it helps for it to be pretty (: in lieu of having the art i just through something together as a placeholder until i had the legit art, but i think i'll stick with mine! i just through it together, but here it is (if you wanna do the same) haha...
http://www.theunibaumer.com/images/rogue_wave_AAHG.jpg
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I'm pretty sure Rogue Wave left Sub-Pop, and not the other way around
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Hilarious that commenters will slag Rogue Wave and lap up bullshit like Tokyo Police Club because they're told to.
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did it ever occur to anyone that Rogue Wave sucks no matter what the album cover looks like?
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Rogue Wave is fantastic enough, but adding Beulah into the mix...I can't wait for their next record.
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sounds good to me.
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@ David Topping: Beulah broke up...
Can't wait to hear this record though!
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