EXCLUSIVE PREMIERE: Old Currents - The Glory, The Defeat" LP

Old Currents and Concert Crap have teamed up to premiere the band’s latest album, The Glory, The Defeat. The North Jersey band released the singles “No Signs of Life”, “The Glory”, and “Here, You Throw This Away” leading up to the album’s release. Now they are ready to share the remaining tracks with the world. Since forming in 2017, childhood friends Jake Novak (Vocals, Guitar), Joe Bernechea (Guitar, Vocals), and Greg Winsper (Drums) along with Ryan Struck (Bass) have been creating their own blend of pop-punk, folk, and hardcore.

The Glory, The Defeat is the band’s first album since their 2017 debut Three Chords and The Truth. Lead singer Jake Novak says “I feel like this is truly the first Old Currents album. I’m proud of our first album but you can hear the growing pains and you can hear us searching for an identity that we could call our own. I think on The Glory, The Defeat, we found our identity and nailed the sound that we all we’re trying to find on Three Chords & the Truth.”

The band started recording The Glory, The Defeat in 2019 at Portrait Recording Studios in Pompton Plains, New Jersey. Recording in a small-town environment, 25 minutes away from New York City, brought the best of both worlds to the album. There are the softer sounds you might expect from a smaller suburban area, combined with the harder more aggressive sounds one would hear in the big city.

Dynamics plays an important role in music. Changing the feel and rhythm within a song helps to keep it interesting. This album succeeds by not only utilizing dynamics within songs, but also across songs. Each song is unique and has a different feel. The sound goes from punky power downstrokes to clean arpeggiation to folky acoustic rhythms.

Two songs with contrasting dynamics and feel are “The Glory” and “No Signs of Life”. “The Glory” is a ballad with a country rock feel that reminds one of the Eagles. It was inspired by Novak’s mother and is about overcoming adversity. He says “My mom didn’t have a great relationship with her first husband, and she always told me that she loves life so much now, that she’d go through the bad times again knowing it would put her on the path to the life she has now. While I haven’t gone through anything like she did, I love that attitude on life and I think there is a lot to be gained by having that mindset no matter what your struggle was. I love my life so much now, that I’d be willing to make the same mistakes again.”

“No Signs of Life” is more of a pop-punk with a more aggressive sound. It is about leaving home to purse dreams. Novak explains, “One of our best friends left New Jersey and moved to Los Angeles without knowing anybody out there to pursue his dream of being a screenwriter. This song is written from his perspective of leaving home behind and questioning if the risk was worth it.”

The Glory, The Defeat is set to be released on all steaming services on April 22, 2022. However, Concert Crap readers can listen to a stream of the album below.