photo by Elizabeth Gomez Dapena
Ghost Cult Magazine is hosting an exclusive stream of Spiritual Dreams Above Empty Promises, the expansive new album from alternative/avant rock project WALKING BOMBS, ahead of the record’s release tomorrow.
WALKING BOMBS is the alternative/cross-genre act created by Morgan Y. Evans. The first of several new records from the project to be released in 2023, Spiritual Dreams Above Empty Promises is an album about trying not to lose hope and to remain centered despite the world’s sorrows and perils. It was written following the passing of Evans’ mother and deals with topics ranging from mortality, spirituality, individuality, gun violence, love, cynicism, freedom of choice, spectator apathy during conflict or bullying, overcoming doubt, and even being startled awake by technology. It is for people trying to remember that cynicism is not as powerful as our deeper hopes, dreams, and empathy.
Spiritual Dreams Above Empty Promises was recorded before Evans’ recent move to Southern California. The record, along with a corresponding sister album, was created in Rhinebeck, New York during the majority of 2022 at engineer and multi-instrumentalist Ash Umhey’s forested studio Orange Sound, engineered, recorded, and mixed by Umhey. It’s a reconnecting of sorts between old friends after years of growing up and participating in the late-1990s/early-2000s fertile Hudson Valley alternative music scene together.
Evans played a wide range of instruments, with a large contribution of material from Umhey, drummer Justin Zipperle (Shadow Witch), Elizabeth Gomez Dapena (Globelamp, ex-Foxygen), and cameos from many other friends, including members/alumni of The Chrome Cranks, The Stabbing Jabs, The Alchemy Unit, Prince Rama, The Natural Lines, Matt Pond PA, Meowtain, Gridfailure, Talon, 5rvln5, Kore Rozzik Band, and more, largely recorded at the collaborators’ respective home studios. Septa’s Eugene Tymchyk even sent a spoken word contribution from amidst war-torn Ukraine. The symbolic cover art was created by NYC visual designer Julia Popescu.
“It feels rewarding, if complex, to get this album out and move forward towards the present moment,” says Evans. “This collection is mainly about pain, anxiety, and grief. How do we carry it and what are the ways we can harm or elevate one another or the self to heal or not? I don’t have a perfect solution. Regardless of if you are pragmatist, religious, a stone-cold atheist, or whatever, it takes diversity, vision, and the will to live bravely and with empathy. Thank you to everyone who helped create this album and who strives for better days.”
Stream WALKING BOMBS’ Spiritual Dreams Above Empty Promises early at Ghost Cult Magazine RIGHT HERE.
Spiritual Dreams Above Empty Promises will be released digitally and in a limited run of CDs tomorrow, Friday, April 7th. Find preorders at Bandcamp HERE.
Watch for additional videos and more from the record to post over the weeks ahead.
https://walkingbombs.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/walkingbombs
https://www.facebook.com/walkingbombsmusic
https://walkingbombs.threadless.com