LONGWAVE

Secrets Are Sinister

November 11, 2008 on Original Signal Recordings

Steve Schiltz — vocals, guitar Shannon Ferguson — guitar Jason Molina — drums

Morgan King — bass

Longwave's fourth album Secrets Are Sinister doesn't waste any time introducing the band's newly expanded sound. Opener "Sirens In The Deep Sea" sets the stage with a brief, dueling jangle of chords before exploding into a cosmic crash of pounding drums, falsetto, and larger than life fuzzed out guitar. The band's trademark sound is all still there - atmospheric, arena-sized guitars that build to an epic swell - but now their penchant for dreamy landscapes gives way to an equally dynamic but louder, noisier, and more driving sensibility. Recorded predominantly by the band in their Brooklyn, NY studio (with help from producers Peter Katis and Dave Fridmann), Longwave returns from a three-year hiatus - self-imposed though sparked by a series of unfortunate events - with their most varied and strongest album to date.

Formed by singer/guitarist Steve Schiltz and guitarist Shannon Ferguson in 1999, Longwave quickly rose to the top of a reinvigorated and burgeoning New York music scene, buoyed by rigorous touring as well as regular bookings and championship by Luna Lounge owner Rob Sacher. Sacher eventually released the band's first album, Endsongs, on his Luna Sea imprint in 2000. Bolstered by support from local friends The Strokes, who handpicked the band as their tour opener that year, Longwave signed to RCA Records in 2001 and began work on their second album with producer Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, MGMT, Sleater-Kinney). Hailed by magazines ranging from Rolling Stone to Nylon to Alternative Press, The Strangest Things culminated with the band swept up in a wave of deserved hype surrounding the early '00s New York City rock scene. The album went on to sell over 40,000 copies, a highly impressive number for a young indie rock band. Longwave performed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and Last Call with Carson Daly, and appeared on MTV's "Subterranean." Three singles - "Wake Me When It's Over," "Tidal Wave," and "Everywhere You Turn" - were played on modern rock stations while the band hit the road with the likes of OK GO, The National, The Donnas, and The Vines.

Following the departure of the original bassist Dave Marchese and drummer Mike James, Longwave returned to the studio to record There's A Fire (RCA, 2005) with producer John Leckie (John Lennon, Radiohead, Stone Roses). Jason Molina joined on drums as the band set out on tour, playing with The Doves, Spoon, Kasabian, and The National. Sony had merged with BMG the prior year and the band found themselves and their new album caught in the wake of a major corporate shuffle. The band was then struck with a stretch of horrible luck, concluding with a series of dispiriting tour cancellations that ranged from natural disasters to co-headliners who had their tour support pulled days before they were set to head out. Shortly thereafter, Longwave lost their deal with RCA.

Disheartened and wracked with bills, Longwave were at a crossroads. Schiltz toured for the better part of the next two years as a guitarist with Albert Hammond, Jr. and Teddy Thompson; Ferguson and Molina continued to play together in the band Falcon. In 2007, the band revisited a couple of songs they had written and recorded in late 2005 with Fridmann, one of which was appropriately named "Life Is Wrong." Noisy, crazy, and thundering, (musically, vocally, and production-wise), the song was different from anything Longwave had recorded before. This song sparked another, the shimmering "Sirens In The Deep Sea," and convinced the band it was creatively time for another album. The band's publisher, Chrysalis, offered to help them make a fourth record and Secrets Are Sinister was born.

In early 2008, producer Peter Katis (Interpol, The National, Tokyo Police Club,) and Ferguson set up the band's practice space for recording before Katis departed, leaving the band to their own devices. All the drum and bass parts, as well as some guitars and overdubs, were recorded there in Brooklyn before the band traveled to Bridgeport, CT to finish the guitars, vocals, and mixing with Katis. Morgan King joined on bass during the recording period, playing on "Shining Hours." In two months time, the newly realized band had completed Secrets Are Sinister and by late summer, they had signed with indie label Original Signal Recordings, home to Ingrid Michaelson and David Ford, among others.

The album fittingly runs the emotional gamut from feeling disconnected to needing allies to having hope for the future. From the rapid-fire, magnetic "No Direction" (also produced by Fridmann) to the undulating "Satellites" to the melancholy "It's True," Secrets Are Sinister is the consummation of the band's experiences and a testament to their longevity. After seeing all the highs and lows the music industry has to offer, Longwave managed to make the best album of their career.