Northlane surprised fans this morning by releasing their new album Memser, without any pre-announcement.
The album can be purchased and streamed here, or through the usual channels – as well as being available as a CD, LP, and cassette.
Northlane will also be doing pop up shows in signings in Melbourne and Sydney this weekend, which will most likely be your only chance to snare the limited-edition vinyl. For more details, and to RSVP to these free shows, head here.
The band explained their reasons for the surprise release, saying in a statement: “Through determination, hard work, sacrifice and a bit of luck, we are able to travel the world taking our music to fans both old and new. We’re able to spend time crafting the music we want to hear with the benefit of not having to leave the studio early to go and work a job. To an artist these are real luxuries. We appreciate them more than anything and we’re in the position of being able to do this because of you – our incredible fans who continue to support us. You free us to be the artists we want to be.
“Because of this, we have decided to put out this record in a way that means our fans will hear it the second they know it exists. You can stream Mesmer for free right now if you want to. If you want to support us even more, all the new LP variants and merch are all available for purchase immediately. No one has to wait, and if you’re buying direct from us or our label, you don’t have to purchase an expensive bundle because everything is available separately.
“This is our way of rewarding our fans for everything they’ve given us. What our music means to you is what it means to us. Art is an experience, and to us it reserves no room for competition, and the only accolade that matters to us is the place this holds in your heart.”
The band points to the disadvantages of releasing the album this way, continuing:
“Releasing the album in this way has had its disadvantages. We were warned that it was going to be a difficult thing to pull off, and that it could mean the album won’t chart as well or get covered enough by the media. But for us, that didn’t matter. We’ve had some awesome chart results (#1 and #3), been nominated for and won awards, and we’ve been in plenty of magazines around the world. It’s all great and flattering, but for us nothing compares to the feeling we get from connecting with our fans who love and respect our art. To share in that with them is everything to us, and when it came down to it – it was the one thing that mattered the most.
“Releasing Mesmer in this way has been right for us at this moment in time. We have grown immeasurably as people and as a band through the toughest recording process we’ve ever endured. We’ve been tested every step of the way and have come out the other side with something we are truly proud of. We didn’t want to keep it from you a moment longer than we had to. We felt we owed it to this album to try and think creatively about every aspect of the way people would experience Mesmer, like a gift from us to you that is being unboxed. We wanted to make everyone’s discovery of this moment special.”
