Florida hardcore/post-hardcore band Gouge Away have announced their first new album since 2018’s great Burnt Sugar, Deep Sage, due March 15 via Deathwish. Along with the announcement comes the powerful, instantly infectious new single “Stuck In A Dream,” and Deep Sage also includes the more atmospheric “Idealized” that Gouge Away released last year.
Gouge Away originally began writing the album back in 2019, but went on hiatus when the pandemic forced the world into lockdown, not resuming work on their new music until New Year’s Eve before 2022. In February of 2023, they made a surprise return at a Militarie Gun show in Portland, and then released “Idealized” in May of that year.
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The album was recorded with frequent collaborator Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Jeff Rosenstock, etc.), and they recorded most of it live to tape. Vocalist Christina Michelle explains, “Recording live and to tape creates an intense environment where we have no choice but to feed off each other’s energy. We have to get it right in one take, and if anyone messes up, we all have to start over, so no one wants to be that guy. It adds an element of risk and excitement. We don’t want to sound beautifully polished or perfect anyway. We want to sound like the five of us being human, and no one is better than Jack Shirley when it comes to capturing what it feels like in the room.”
Check out the performance video for “Stuck In A Dream” and stream “Idealized” below. Gouge Away’s only currently scheduled show is opening Ceremony’s one-night-only performance of Rohnert Park at Hollywood Palladium on Feb. 24.
Deep Sage tracklist
“Stuck in a Dream”
“Maybe Blue”
“Idealized”
“Deep Sage”
“A Welcome Change”
“Overwatering”
“No Release”
“The Sharpening”
“Spaced out”
“Newtau”
“Dallas”
