“Whelan is as equally expressive and in command on the minimalist piano ballads as on the full-blown rockers… the best music Whelan has ever made.”
– New York Times

“This is exciting, dynamic, hooky indie rock and if it’s not quite a Wrens song, that doesn’t make it any less great.” – Brooklyn Vegan
“… a heartening return to form from Whelan.” – Consequence of Sound
 
Following his return to music after more than a decade, Kevin Whelan of AEON STATION is offering another look into his upcoming debut album Observatory (release date: December 10, 2021 via Sub Pop) with the release of the second single “Leaves”.  Premiering today on Pitchfork, the track is a very special piece for one of the main songwriters of iconic indie rock band The Wrens. “‘Leaves’ is about finding the courage to leave negative people or situations behind. It is not about giving up or feeling defeated. It’s about learning self-love, finding your voice, and setting on a path for a chance at something better.”

After roughly 18 years since The Wrens’ Meadowlands (2003) left the indie rock world in a daze, Whelan surprised last month with the release of “Queens,” the first single from Observatory. Pitchfork points out that its “reliable Pixies-indebted soft-loud dynamic roars to life in thrilling distorted guitar riffs that remind me of old Weezer B-sides, and just as the song comes to a close, Whelan bursts into a barroom acoustic strummer that slowly fades.” UPROXX added, “The five-minute single starts off slowly but locks into place with crashing percussion and hard-driving guitar. From a sonic perspective, it’s quite the ‘we’re back’ proclamation.” Stereogum called the track “exhilarating” while MXDWN lauded it as “a hypnotic rock song that features an explosive chorus, ripping guitars and ethereal vocal lines creating a mesmerizing wall of sound.”

More than a decade in the making, Observatory is an album about the perseverance of the soul, not scared of vulnerability but not backing down to adversity either. The album pushes Whelan forward from his previous band’s sound, highlighting the gorgeous music pastiches he layered into those songs and amplifies them to soaring heights. With help on assorted tracks from his Wrens bandmates Jerry MacDonald (drums) and Greg Whelan (guitar) and producer/guitarist Tom Beaujour, this collection of tracks shines a bright light on his songwriting. “It’s the best I’ve done and may ever do frankly,” Whelan states. “It’s written over such a long period of my life. Music I did in the past was tinged with expectations or presumptions, but this time, it was just for me.”

Observatory is now available for preorder on CD/LP/DSPs from Sub Pop. LP preorders from megamart.subpop.com, select independent retailers in North America, in the UK, and in Europe will receive the album on cloudy blue.

 

About Observatory:
Aeon Station’s Observatory is an epic statement more than a decade in the making, with miles of timeless melodies and the kind of overpowering songwriting that will reaffirm your belief in life itself. Longtime Wrens member Kevin Whelan’s first solo album draws heavily from the perseverance of the soul, resulting in rock music possessing an infectious and inspiring sonic uplift. If you’re familiar with Whelan’s past work, these ten tracks bear a certain and unmistakable familiarity—but they also mark an exciting new chapter in Whelan’s musical career, as he steps out with more vulnerability than ever before.
 
Observatory came together carefully for Whelan—over the course of 14 years, specifically, as clusters of demos and sketches were eventually assembled and recorded largely by Whelan himself, with assistance from Wrens’ bandmate Jerry MacDonald and Greg Whelan as well as Tom Beaujour in his Union City recording space. Additionally, his wife Mary Ann provided backup vocals. “It’s the best I’ve done and may ever do frankly,” Whelan states. “It’s written over such a long period of my life. Music I did in the past was tinged with expectations or presumptions, but this time, it was just for me.”
 
The long gestation of Observatory means that a lot of lived experience went into making this album. As time passed, Whelan got married, started a family, and moved to the Asia Pacific region for a period of time; at 15 months old, his son (now eight) was also diagnosed with autism, and the title of Observatory itself is inspired by Whelan’s own relationship with his son.
“The moment you’re told your child is not ‘neurotypical,’ your whole world expands in ways you never imagined,” he explains. “Even though he doesn’t speak much at all, or look at anyone directly, you can see him observing everything around him. The album title reflects upon the stories within the songs — each one observing a certain situation or feeling.”
 
Whelan’s scope of musical vision on Observatory is wide open and free with possibilities—at once recalling the reflective wisdom of Bruce Springsteen, Broken Social Scene’s huge anthemic burn, and the Wrens’ own pulsing-with-life take on rock music. Above all, this is music not only for dreamers but for those who realize and appreciate the enormity of every moment. “It’s about never letting go about those dreams and your passion,” he states. “The album starts from a place of realizing that everything is temporary, what we love eventually changes or leaves us, and regardless we continue to search and find our way back home.”
 
The pounding “Queens” builds to a truly thrilling climax of huge guitars and frantic drumming, while the steady build of “Leaves” is accompanied by Whelan’s reflections on “Being lost and then found”: “It musically captures the album as it starts small and intimate, crescendos into a peak both musically and lyrically, and then settles down into a repeating mode of a hopeful but uncertain mantra about the future,” he explains while discussing the song’s themes and creation.
 
Then there’s the gleaming harmonies of “Fade,” a song about breaking past your own insecurities to discover what’s on the other side. “Whether you limit yourself because of your own fears and insecurities, or because what others think and say,” Whelan says, “The song is about when you stop waiting and start believing deeper in your own path.” Observatory ends with the hushed and lush “Alpine Drive,” with Whelan’s voice lit by pinwheel plucked piano strings—a tender moment that packs as much power as the nine songs that come before it.
 
“I hope people feel a sense of strength when they hear this album,” he states while discussing his artistic aims as a whole. “Most importantly, I hope that it connects to them in some personal way.” And if you’ve ever caught air in your lungs or felt your heart beating in your chest, there’s no doubt that you’ll find some level of connection with Observatory’s open-hearted, instantly classic-sounding rock.

Aeon Station - Observatory

Tracklisting:
1. Hold On
2. Leaves
3. Fade
4. Everything at Once
5. Move
6. Queens
7. Empty Rooms
8. Air
9. Better Love
10. Alpine Drive