Philadelphia psychedelic, dream-pop outfit Weekender has shared a video for their new single, “Rising” out today, off their upcoming third EP, Modern Daydream, set to arrive next Friday, Sept. 20 via PaperCup Music. Weekender will celebrate tonight Philadelphia atJohnny Brenda’s and in New York City, September 22 at Gran Torino.
Discussing the single, founder and principle songwriter Derek Sheehan stated, “Rising was an early song I wrote back in 2016 or 2017. For the longest time I only had the first verse lyrics looped through the song. I don’t think I finished the lyrics until April of this year. Some songs just take longer than others, and you move on and comeback to them when the time is right,” Sheehan muses “but this one is a love song about someone special.”
Modern Daydream is the long-awaited follow up to Weekender’s 2016 record, Floaty Feeling, Blue. After supporting that record, which garnered praise from Interview, Consequence of Sound, the Village Voice, amongst others,Sheehan began writing new material, sharing it with the band to try a more collaborative songwriting approach. including synth player, Daniel Mudd, quickly finding a musical chemistry between the two. Mudd’s background in electronic music and hip-hop production added a new flavor to Sheehan’s hazy psych pop sensibility. “We would get together to work on demos, and explore the songs in a super open way avoiding being precious,” says Sheehan, “everything was on the table. We would basically take fully fleshed out demos and remix them. The result was usually super cool. I think that is where you often find the best elements of a song, stepping out of your comfort zone, and pushing your personal creative boundaries.”
Sheehan and Mudd tracked much of the material featured on Modern Daydream at Sheehan’s home studio with additional recording sessions at Retro City Studios in Philadelphia and bass player Brendan McGeehan’s home studio. “Every member of the band played a role in making this record. Brendan our bass player, and Steve Rosplock, our guitarist did a lot of the recording and engineering at Retro City,” Sheehan explains. “Not only is a collaborative record a new thing for Weekender, but also producing, recording, and mixing the record ourselves. It was a big undertaking, but we learned a lot. I really enjoy all the songs on this record. I think they all have something to offer in their own way, and definitely a taste of what is to come.”