Legendary independent New York-based rock label Equal Vision Records and Common Sage are excited to announce the Friday, November 22 release of Closer To;, the Brooklyn, NY-based post-hardcore band’s brand new studio album (pre-save/pre-0rder HERE). Recorded and produced by Brett Romnes (Anxious, Oso Oso, Hot Mulligan, The Movielife) at The Barber Shop Studios in Lake Hopatcong, NJ, Closer To; is led by “Vehicles,” a searing track that provides an explicit perspective on life as we know it.

“The Heaven’s Gate cult would call their bodies a ‘vehicle’ or ‘container’,” frontman Julian Rosen said. “They believed that their current life was only temporary and that they were ultimately meant to ascend to something greater. These were normal, educated people with families and jobs and lives. ‘Vehicles’ is about not being satisfied with your reality, that there may be no meaning to life, and that one day you will die.” Watch the music video for “Vehicles,” directed by Rich Weinberger (Gatherers), on YouTube HERE.

Additionally, Common Sage will be making numerous U.S. appearances throughout the fall and winter supporting Hail The Sun, Sparta and Reggie & The Full Effect in select markets on the east and west coasts. A full listing of dates can be found below, and more information on tickets can be found on the band’s official site HERE.

Whether it’s acknowledged or not, starting a “post-hardcore” band in this era is not a decision to be taken lightly. The genre, rife with copycats, naysayers, and gatekeepers, can be one of the most critical of its kind. This is why, upon first listen to Common Sage, one should keep an open mind. The Brooklyn, NY based quartet brings to the table not only a serious deference for their groundwork laying predecessors, but they offer something new to the scene altogether—which is much easier said than done.

Common Sage’s sound feels like a modern take on the melodic side of post hardcore with a strong influence from the legendary Long Island emo scene. When these dualistic stylings are partnered with a dissonant, cacophonous riff-storm, they sound something like Quicksand and Title Fight dancing a delicate ballet. This is no doubt a very calculated and deliberate musical high wire act, and it’s not something that can be accomplished by a band that has not done their due diligence.

Herein lies the secret to Common Sage; it’s less of what they choose to put on the canvas as artists, but more of what they choose to hold back that shows the true nature of the band. While something such as a simple three chord breakdown could have served them greatly in the short term—the band opts for much more artful choices, making veteran level structural decisions that you would expect from innovative songsmiths like Modest Mouse or mewithoutYou. It’s easy to see why industry pillars like Geoff Rickly and Steve Pedulla of the band Thursday or Jason Gleason of Further Seems Forever were quick to lend their talents and to the band's new music.

This is why it is so fitting that Sage, a medicinal herb, when burned is used to cleanse the air of all its impurities. One can only hope that Common Sage can accomplish something similar within their genre, clearing out the staid tropes of the past and making way for something new to appear out of thin air.

Closer To track listing:

Witness (featuring Stay Inside)
Vehicles
Come Undone
Shiver
Until I'm Gone
47.
Waste
Bulrushes (featuring Sainthood Reps)
(desiderium)
Patient & Kind
Apparitions