The great Florida hardcore / post-hardcore band Gouge Away have announced a new album, Deep Sage, their first sine 2018’s Burnt Sugar. The band says that the writing sessions started back in 2019, before they released the new single “Consider” in early 2020, but when the world went into lockdown, Gouge Away went on hiatus, putting the album on halt. Fast forward to New Year’s Eve before 2022, the band got back together to finish writing the album, and then made a surprise return at a Militarie Gun show in February of 2023, followed by the release of new single “Idealized” in May of that year. “Idealized” is on the album, alongside the just-released new single “Stuck In A Dream,” which opens the album.
They made the album with frequent collaborator Jack Shirley, and they did the whole thing analog and recorded almost all of it live. “Recording live and to tape creates an intense environment where we have no choice but to feed off each other’s energy,” says vocalist Christina Michelle. “We have to get it right in one take and if anyone messes up we all have to start over, so no one wants to be that guy. It adds an element of risk and excitement. We don’t want to sound beautifully polished or perfect anyway. We want to sound like the five of us being human, and no one is better than Jack Shirley when it comes to capturing what it feels like in the room.”
Having showed off their atmospheric side on “Idealized,” “Stuck In A Dream” is a real brooding, hard-hitting ripper that feels like a hell of a comeback. Listen and watch the performance video below. The album comes out March 15 via Deathwish (pre-order).
Gouge Away have one upcoming show at the moment: opening Ceremony‘s Rohnert Park show at Hollywood Palladium on February 24 alongside Infest, Soul Search, and Blazing Eye.
Tracklist
Stuck in a Dream
Maybe Blue
Idealized
Deep Sage
A Welcome Change
Overwatering
No Release
The Sharpening
Spaced out
Newtau
Dallas