- SOUL
ASYLUM
- From
Wall Of Sound:
Monday, March 23, 1998
Soul Asylum Previews
Album, Prepares for Club Tour
South by Southwest in
Austin went big-time rock and roll Thursday night as Soul Asylum—the only
multimillion-selling band among more than four hundred playing during the
five-day festival—previewed its new album to a shivering but enthusiastic
crowd at an outdoor venue called Stubb's. Playing its second full-length
concert with new drummer Chris Joiner, the group sounded tight and energetic
as it plowed through a thirteen-song set that featured ten songs from Candy
From a Stranger,
the forthcoming album
slated to hit stores on May 12, as well as four older favorites—"Black
Gold," "In the Air," "New World," and
"Misery." The
new songs included the first single, "I Will Still Be Laughing,"
"Close,"
"New York Blackout," Cradle Chain," "Blood Into
Wine," "Dragging the Lake," "Creatures of Habit,"
and "Lies of Hate." The group is in the midst of filming a video
for "I Will Still Be Laughing."
After the show,
bassist Karl Mueller said the band was happy with its performance.
"It's been a long time since we've been able to actually play a
show," he said. "It felt good up there. It's coming together.
There are some
nuances and things that need to be worked out. It's in a way overwhelming;
it's great to have this and it's great people show up, 'cause we have been
away for awhile."
As for what we can
expect from the album, Mueller says, "to me, it sounds really together,
but not sterile. It's got almost a live vibe to it, but cleaned up a bit. By
no means is it a Steely Dan record. There's
some great melodies,
some great harmonies going on, a lot of interplay between voicing of the
instrumentals and the vocals." Mueller said that after the album is
released, the band will hit the road to play some of the major radio-station
festivals as well as a short club tour.
—Gary Graff