For the first time in 25 years, New York City based The Van Pelt have announced their upcoming fourth studio album, Artisans & Merchants, which will be released March 17th. The album will join a series of shows, including stops at Brooklyn’s Saint Vitus Bar.
The album was recorded and mixed in Summer / Fall 2021 by Jeff Zeigler at Uniform Recording in Philadelphia, PA, and features guest appearances by Nate Kinsella and Ted Leo among others. The Van Pelt has returned to explore what was left behind with Artisans & Merchants.
This is not a reunion album. This is vindication. For lovers of The Van Pelt, listening to Artisans & Merchants is like hearing the voice of a dear friend you haven’t seen in years — a friend you used to share countless beers with over banter that went nowhere other than delivering a solid night. Your friend is older, they’ve changed. In some ways you’re worried for them. In other ways, it’s the same old them, a soul too unique to ever be altered.
The Van Pelt frontman Chris Leo
The first single “Punk House” is out everywhere now along with a brand new music video. The video features digitized archive footage from The Van Pelts US tours of the mid-90s.
When a bunch of old VHS tapes were unearthed, we had them digitized and they turned out to be from tours of the mid-90s. The footage is mainly of daily banalities: random purchases at rest stops, packing and unpacking the van, highway views that could be on the outskirts of Any Town USA. Yet there is a nostalgia to it that’s compelling to everyone
Chris Leo
For more information, and to purchase tickets, visit thevanpelt.bandcamp.com
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