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Today, Grand Rapids, Michigan based indie rock band The Crane Wives share their eagerly anticipated self-produced, rousing fifth studio album Beyond Beyond Beyond out everywhere now. In addition to the new album, the band treats fans to an all new music video for smooth lead single "Arcturus Beaming" out now, which tells an optimistic queer love story in the digital age. Tonight, the band will celebrate the new music with an official album release show in their hometown with an opening set by Cal In Red. Get tickets here and catch them on their upcoming dates across select Southern and Western cities this fall with support from Patty Pershayla and Rett Madison.
Out now, Beyond Beyond Beyond, the fifth studio record by The Crane Wives, explores the mixture of fear, joy, and deep vulnerability that occurs when a person is on the cusp of changing the course of their life. The eleven track album is a circular journey that asks heavy questions of the listener: Am I strong enough to change? Am I brave enough to take the risk? Do I deserve the chance to be happy? It offers the listener momentum to move forward, a guide through dark spaces with shimmery other-worldly melodies and an encouraging push to venture forth into the unknown.
The project is an electric departure from The Crane Wives’ previous releases, prominently highlighting the lead guitar work of songwriters and singers Kate Pillsbury and Emilee Petersmark. Drummer Dan Rickabus contributes darker, stormy and dynamic rhythms to this record, while bassist Ben Zito creates narrative movement in the songs with his rooting, counter-melodic approach. The album is self-produced by the four-piece collaboration, and engineered & mixed by Zito at his studio, Centennial Sound. The band invited guest violinist Samantha Cooper and guest cellist Jordan Hamilton to help portray a distinct emotional voice. The album was mastered by Heba Kadry. The band’s longtime collaborator, visual artist Rebecca Green returned to create her fifth piece of album artwork for the project.
Rickabus shares that the band collaborated like never before throughout the album creation process. “We tried to challenge ourselves to shake loose from our old patterns and explore what is possible between the four of us. Those brave experiments mean even more to me when I think about the lyrical content of the album. The album begins with inner-conflict, and moves through a very human process of growth toward a bold belief in possibility, and an attempt to create change. So, that sense of creative experimentation really resonates.”
In July, the group shared the lead single “Arcturus Beaming," a rhythmic, gentle exploration of simultaneous grief and gratitude, one that holds onto a belief in a better future. The song’s building energy culminates in a realization of personal empowerment. “Nothing will change until I change.” Today, the group shares the official music video here.
Director Jackson Ezinga was inspired by the ways the internet has continuously been a pivotal point of connection, and says the song carries a cosmic and celestial tone with its melodies and lyrics which gave the director a chance to tell an upbeat and optimisitic queer story. Instead of delving into an all-too-often traumatic, heartbreaking queer story, Ezinga explains, "I wanted to tell a more hopeful coming-of-age story about the joy and excitement of a deep and meaningful connection. A connection which begins virtually and compels someone to 'leave the cave' and travel hundreds of miles just to occupy the same physical space with someone special with the hope that it's only the beginning."
Watch "Arcturus Beaming" (Official Music Video)
Last month, the band offered "Scars," a personal, intimate processing of past trauma and shines a light on the ways one's life experiences–positive and negative–shape who one becomes. It is a murky exploration of how past trauma can follow a person their entire life, surprising them in how it manifests. The track was born from vocalist and guitarist Emilee Petersmark's own experiences as an adopted child and the hardships that come with it. The haunting, crawling guitar and bass riffs, dragging, bombastic percussion, and heavy counter-melodies help create a sense of underlying tension, while the lyrics paint a scathing picture of a relationship that struggles to exist.
Despite its driving, upbeat guitar riffs and playful energy, "Bitter Medicine," is an ode to impostor syndrome, the internalized shame of having others look up to you for guidance on a subject you feel like you’re failing at. Drummer Dan Rickabus and bassist Ben Zito create a bouncing groove that turns the self-deprecating lyrics into a cathartic confession: “don’t look up to me."
The Crane Wives have been busy captivating audiences throughout North America all summer and after their hometown album release show tonight, will continue across the Southern and Western U.S. through November. See a full list of dates below and get tickets now here for the upcoming fall dates.
The Crane Wives formed in 2010 and have charmed audiences across hundreds of stages around the U.S. since. The band has built a global community and has amassed over 1M Spotify monthly listeners and 100M total streams with their unparalleled, spirited live show, evocative lyricism and glimmering harmonies. The group has shared stages with The Avett Brothers, Lake Street Dive, Rusted Root, The Dead South, Joseph, and more. In 2017, they won JBL’s “Best American Band Contest” and were named one of Paste Magazine's “12 Michigan Acts You Should Be Listening To Now,” Featured by Michigan Radio and NPR’s “All Songs Considered”, the band has been the recipient of several local accolades such as the WYCE Best Rock/Pop album for their 2016 full-length studio record, Foxlore. Now, in 2024, with their fifth album out now, The Crane Wives enter an all-new, dynamic phase of their artistic identity where they learn to trust themselves, dive deeper lyrically and take sonic risks like never before.
Beyond Beyond Beyond, the versatile, sincere fifth LP by The Crane Wives is out everywhere now. The band will play their official album release show in their home town of Grand Rapids, MI tonight and will continue their Southern and Western fall tour through November across North America with tickets on sale now here. Connect with the rising rockers now on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X and YouTube.
Watch: "Scars" (Official Lyric Video) | Listen
Watch "Bitter Medicine" (Official Video) | Listen
Watch: "Arcturus Beaming" (Official Lyric Video) | Listen
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