The the night before Thanksgiving serves as hometown reunion night for the norms, then let us claim the night after Thanksgiving for the rock and roll crowd. So as we prepare to post up (Black) Friday (November 25) for The Sheila Divine’s show at The Paradise Rock Club, arrive with casual pleasantries on the early tip to experience The Rupert Selection on the Commonwealth Avenue big stage. The Boston trio, who have partnered with Wandering Soul Beer Co. for a Red IPA collaboration, recently unleashed a sky-high psych-grunge cruiser called “Astronauts,” clocking in at a robust 4:20 in length and serving as the explosive live band’s first new music in three years.
And it’s a track thematically and sonically fit for absorbing a night surrounded by friends.
“This song is basically an ode to feeling completely hopeless and trying not to succumb to the world that constantly feels like is falling apart around you; somehow finding light where there isn’t any,” guitarist and vocalist Reilly Somach tells Vanyaland.
“Astronauts” was one of the last pieces of music recorded at Zippah Studio, before the Brighton creative hub was destroyed in a massive December 2021 fire. Zippah is owned and operated by producer Brian Charles, who is also a longtime member of The Sheila Diving, adding another layer to Friday’s feel-good festivities, which also include Boston risers Valleyheart.
“This song was written and recorded in the midst of the pandemic,” adds Somach. “We worked with Brian on it during the final days of Zippah Studios before its tragic fire, and finished it with him at Mad Oak Studios. It was one of those songs that just came together effortlessly and wrote itself in the practice space after playing the main riff a few times together, so we felt it was appropriate to release as our first new song in over three years and mark this new era of the band featuring Sam Bouve on bass and vocals and Peter Bartash on drums.”
New music from The Rupert Selection is fast on the way in December, and in the New Year the band heads back into the studio to complete a new record with Charles deep in the Allston trenches at Mad Oak. In the meantime, prepare for Friday night’s chosen family reunion with “Astronauts” below
THE SHEILA DIVINE + VALLEYHEART + THE RUPERT SELECTION :: Friday, November 25 at The Paradise Rock Club, 967 Commonwealth Ave. in Boston, MA :: 7 p.m., 18-plus, $20 :: Event info :: Advance tickets