‘Return Forever’ by The Fourth Wall | Album Premiere
Exclusive album premiere of ‘Return Forever’ by Portland shoegaze band The Fourth Wall, out March 15 via DevilDuck Records.
The forthcoming release of ‘Return Forever’ by The Fourth Wall delves into the complexities of the immigrant experience, with songwriter Stephen Agustin at the helm. Inspired by a poignant moment in his family history, the album explores the theme of the “poetry of forgetfulness” and the exchange of joy for memory. With Agustin’s mastery of electric guitar soundscapes and impassioned harmonies, the album is a captivating journey that captures the unfathomable. From the haunting opener ‘Interrupts the Dream’ to the tender ‘Only the Joy,’ it intertwines darkness and light in a powerful narrative. Through this record, Agustin quests to uncover the fragments of his family history, shedding light on stories relevant to modern America. “My family history has always come to me in fragments and I’ve had the sense that there will always be an irreducible remainder that I will never have access to.” Agustin says. “I became interested in how this unintelligible past affects notions of my own identity.” In some ways, the record feels like a quest for this “irreducible remainder,” one that is futile by nature, but allows The Fourth Wall the opportunity to uncover so many stories that we should be listening to in modern day America.
Stephen Agustin grew up in Oahu, and was ten years old when his musician father took him to a B.B. King concert. He quickly thereafter begged his parents for a guitar and soon started forming bands with his middle school friends. He played in various projects until the formation of The Fourth Wall, and eventually moved to Portland where the band continued to find a growing audience while opening for acts such as The Shins, Andrew Bird, Menomena, Band of Horses, and Typhoon.
Recorded during the pandemic, ‘Return Forever’ features contributions from Kendall Sallay, among others, marking a significant milestone for The Fourth Wall.
Headline photo: Lisa Haagen
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