New Constellation | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 15, 2013 | |||
Recorded | December 2012 – March 2013 [1] | |||
Genre | Alternative rock | |||
Length | 45:10 | |||
Label | Abe's Records | |||
Producer | Mikal Blue | |||
Toad the Wet Sprocket chronology | ||||
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Singles from New Constellation | ||||
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New Constellation is the sixth studio album by American alternative rock band Toad the Wet Sprocket, released October 15, 2013, through Abe's Records. It is available on CD, vinyl and as a digital download. Financed with more than $250,000 from approximately 6,300 contributors on the crowdfunding website Kickstarter, it is their first full-length studio release since the band's 1997 album Coil . [2] This marks the final album with longtime drummer Randy Guss, who had been with the band since its formation in 1986, before his departure in 2020.
Following the band's official breakup in 1998 the members played numerous shows and released several albums, including a compilation of hits and fan favorites in 1999 ( P.S. (A Toad Retrospective) ), a live album in 2004 ( Welcome Home: Live at the Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara 1992 ) and a greatest hits album in 2011 (All You Want). The band recorded two new studio tracks for P.S. (A Toad Retrospective) and a Christmas song originally performed by Sam Phillips titled "It Doesn't Feel Like Christmas" in 2011.
In an interview with Yahoo Music published on July 29, 2014, singer/guitarist Glen Phillips described the one-off shows and the time period around them:
"Three to four years ago, it started feeling like fun again. We started enjoying each other’s company and remembered what made it good and we kind of got out of our own inter-personal dramas a little bit. At some point, it felt like it would be a good idea to make another record, to actually enjoy each other’s company and make some good art again."
On March 22, 2013, it was announced on the band's Facebook page that the recording process of their new album was finished. The album was produced, engineered and mixed by Mikal Blue at Revolver Studios in Thousand Oaks, California
To fund the album, the band decided to use the crowdfunding source Kickstarter with hopes of raising $50,000 within a few months. The goal was reached in just 20 hours and eventually surpassed $250,000.
On June 29, 2013, the full album (known as the Advance Digital Download Deluxe Edition) was made available as a download to contributors of the Kickstarter campaign. The band put together several bundles of the release based on the amount pledged. Some packages included signed copies, limited editions and even personal appearances.
The physical and retail digital release came October 15, 2013, through the band's independent record label, Abe's Records.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
PopMatters | 6/10 [4] |
WhatCulture! | [5] |
New Constellation received mostly positive feedback from music critics. Michael Perone of WhatCulture! describes the album's tracks as having "a sunny pop sheen reminiscent of their home state’s weather," and that "it’s difficult to get any of the melodies out of your head." [5] Fred Thomas of AllMusic writes, "Older, wiser, and with a newfound hopefulness that wasn't there in their younger days, Toad deliver an uncluttered and thoughtful next step of their ongoing songcraft." [1]
All tracks are written by Toad the Wet Sprocket
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "New Constellation" | 3:19 |
2. | "California Wasted" | 3:50 |
3. | "The Moment" | 4:06 |
4. | "Rare Bird" | 4:22 |
5. | "I'll Bet On You" | 3:46 |
6. | "Golden Age" | 4:40 |
7. | "Get What You Want" | 3:20 |
8. | "Is There Anyone Out There" | 3:45 |
9. | "Life Is Beautiful" | 3:22 |
10. | "The Eye" | 4:28 |
11. | "Enough" | 6:05 |
Total length: | 45:10 |
No. | Title | Length |
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12. | "Friendly Fire" | 4:02 |
13. | "Last to Fall" | 3:38 |
14. | "I'm Not Waiting" | 3:11 |
15. | "Finally Fading" | 3:04 |
Total length: | 59:03 |
New Constellation debuted at No. 97 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 4,000 copies in its first week of release. [6]
Chart (2013) | Peak position |
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U.S. Billboard 200 [7] | 97 |
U.S. Independent Albums [7] | 23 |
U.S. Alternative Albums [7] | 24 |
U.S. Rock Albums [7] | 35 |
Credits adapted from AllMusic [8]
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Toad the Wet Sprocket is an American alternative rock band formed in Santa Barbara, California, in 1986. The band at the time consisted of vocalist/guitarist Glen Phillips, guitarist Todd Nichols, bassist Dean Dinning, and drummer Randy Guss, who stopped touring in 2017 and left the band in 2020. Guss was replaced by drummer Josh Daubin, who had been supporting them as their drummer on recent tours. They had chart success in the 1990s with singles that included "Walk on the Ocean", "All I Want", "Something's Always Wrong", "Fall Down", and "Good Intentions".
Fear is the third studio album by American alternative rock band Toad the Wet Sprocket. The album is their second album for Columbia Records, and was released on August 27, 1991. It became the first commercially successful album for the band, selling over a million copies and was certified platinum three years after release, on September 1, 1994. The album reached #49 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums in September 1992. Two of the album's singles charted in the US top 40, "All I Want" and "Walk on the Ocean" which peaked at #15 and #18 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively.
Glen Phillips is an American songwriter, lyricist, singer and guitarist. He is best known as the lead singer and songwriter of the alternative rock group Toad the Wet Sprocket. Phillips also records and performs as a solo artist.
Dulcinea is an album by Toad the Wet Sprocket released in 1994. It is their fourth studio album with Columbia Records and the follow-up to their popular album fear, which was released in 1991. Two songs from Dulcinea charted on the Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts: "Fall Down" and "Something's Always Wrong". Dulcinea was RIAA Certified Gold on September 1, 1994 and Platinum on July 31, 1995.
Coil is the fifth studio album by American alternative rock band Toad the Wet Sprocket released in 1997. This was the band's last album for 16 years, until 2013's New Constellation.
Pale is the second album by American alternative rock band Toad the Wet Sprocket. It was recorded independently in 1989 for roughly $6000. During the recording of Pale, the band signed with Columbia Records. However, they declined to re-record any of the album in a more polished way. Columbia released the album without alterations, as it had done with the 1989 re-release of their debut 1988 album Bread & Circus. Pale was released in January 1990. "Come Back Down" was the first radio single for the album.
P.S. is a compilation by American alternative rock band Toad the Wet Sprocket. Released in 1999, it was a posthumous look back at their career featuring hits and fan favorites. Although the band had officially split up prior to this release, Glen Phillips, Dean Dinning and Randy Guss reunited to record a new version of "P.S.", one of Toad's earliest songs. In addition, Phillips, Dinning, and Guss wrote and recorded an entirely new song titled "Eyes Open Wide," without the participation of Todd Nichols, who felt some of the remaining unrecorded studio outtakes the band had would be better to release than a new song. Rob Taylor, who at the time was the lead guitar player in the band Lapdog, with Nichols and Dinning, is credited as playing "additional guitar" on the track.
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Bread & Circus is the debut album by American alternative rock band Toad the Wet Sprocket, originally self-released on cassette in 1988, and re-released in 1989 by Columbia Records.
"Walk on the Ocean" is a song by American alternative rock group Toad the Wet Sprocket from their third studio album, Fear (1991). Two different versions of the song were released: the album version with a cold ending and the single version with the chorus repeated until fade. Commercially, "Walk on the Ocean" peaked at number 18 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and reached the top 40 in Canada, New Zealand, and Norway.
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"Fall Down" is a song by alternative rock band Toad the Wet Sprocket from their fourth studio album, Dulcinea (1994). "Fall Down" was co-written by Glen Phillips and Todd Nichols. Released to US radio in April 1994, the song topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and peaked at number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100. In Canada, the song peaked at number 10 and ended 1994 as the country's 76th-most-successful single. The music video for the song was directed by Samuel Bayer.
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