Photos: THE ALBERT SQUARE Announces New Album via Asian Man Records
The follow-up record marks the band's latest release on the longtime independent label.
THE ALBERT SQUARE has announced its second album, titled I (Wish I Could) Talk To People, which will be released via Asian Man Records.
Photo Credit: Leslie Hampton
Songwriter Sim Castro shares the album's lead single and music video, 'Bless This Mess,' featuring guest vocals from longtime friend and DIY stalwart Jeff Rosenstock.
Written during a prolonged period of isolation, 'Bless This Mess' is a song about finding strength within yourself in the darkest moments and remaining present to bear witness to your own life. In the song, Castro toys with ideas of faith and religion as he tackles his own mental health and eschews a belief in a 'higher' power in favor of something more internal and personal.
'It's real easy to spiral out and get caught in the 'could haves' and 'should haves,' the past or the future,' says Castro. 'The hard part about living is finding a way to remain present. Especially in the moments that suck, where you feel isolated and you're going mad. I love that the narrator seeks comfort in religious imagery but, ultimately, finds that living for themselves in the present is the real antidote.'
I (Wish I Could) Talk To People. examines the physical, emotional, and psychological weight of loneliness while searching for moments of connection, acceptance, and hope. Across 14 songs, Castro finds meaning not through certainty or external salvation, but through the fragile, everyday act of continuing to show up for yourself and the people around you.
Tracked at Washateria Recordings in Portland, Oregon with longtime collaborator Henry Chadwick and mixed and mastered by Jack Shirley (Joyce Manor, Jeff Rosenstock) at The Atomic Garden in Oakland, I (Wish I Could) Talk To People. features a core lineup of Castro (guitar, vocals), Chadwick (drums), Evan Bailey (keys), and Benjamin Brackett (bass). Together, the quartet expands The Albert Square's melodic indie punk foundation into its most ambitious and fully realized work to date.
Photo Credit: Leslie Hampton
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