Name: Observatory
Brand: Aeon Station

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

SP1459-2

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Colour

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music US

Limited edition

Release date

2021-12-10

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier US

Sub P­op

Tax rate US

Sales:8.875

UPC / Barcode

098787145922

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Total Cap

1 / CD / Extended format: No / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

SP1459-0

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Blue

Cloudy Blue Vinyl

{"blocks": [{"data": {"text": "Cloudy Blue Vinyl"}, "type": "paragraph"}]}

Extended format: Yes

First pressing

{"blocks": [{"data": {"text": "First pressing"}, "type": "paragraph"}]}

098787145908

{"blocks": [{"data": {"text": "098787145908"}, "type": "paragraph"}]}

1 / Extended format: Yes / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No / blue

Artist

Aeon Station

Genre US

Rock-Pop

Label US

Sub Pop

Back In Stock

Band leader Kevin Whelan co-founded and was a key songwriter for New Jersey indie-rock legends The Wrens.

Aeon Station’s Observatory is an epic statement more than a decade in the making, with miles of timeless melodies and the kind of overpowering songwriting that will reaffirm your belief in life itself. Longtime Wrens member Kevin Whelan’s first solo album draws heavily from the perseverance of the soul, resulting in rock music possessing an infectious and inspiring sonic uplift. If you’re familiar with Whelan’s past work, these ten tracks bear a certain and unmistakable familiarity - but they also mark an exciting new chapter in Whelan’s musical career, as he steps out with more vulnerability than ever before.

Observatory came together carefully for Whelan—over the course of 14 years, specifically, as clusters of demos and sketches were eventually assembled and recorded largely by Whelan himself, with assistance from Wrens bandmate Jerry MacDonald and Greg Whelan as well as Tom Beaujour in his Union City recording space. Additionally, his wife Mary Ann provided backup vocals. “It’s the best I’ve done and may ever do frankly,” Whelan states. “It’s written over such a long period of my life. Music I did in the past was tinged with expectations or presumptions, but this time, it was just for me.”

The long gestation of Observatory means that a lot of lived experience went into making this album. As time passed, Whelan got married, started a family, and moved to the Asia Pacific region for a period of time; at 15 months old, his son (now eight) was also diagnosed with autism, and the title of Observatory is inspired by Whelan’s relationship with his son. “The moment you’re told your child is not ‘neurotypical,’ your whole world expands in ways you never imagined,” he explains. “Even though he doesn’t speak much at all, or look at anyone directly, you can see him observing everything around him. The album title reflects upon the stories within the songs — each one observing a certain situation or feeling.”

Whelan’s scope of musical vision on Observatory is wide open and free with possibilities - at once recalling the reflective wisdom of Bruce Springsteen, Broken Social Scene’s huge anthemic burn, and the Wrens’ own pulsing-with-life take on rock music. Above all, this is music not only for dreamers but for those who realize and appreciate the enormity of every moment. “It’s about never letting go about those dreams and your passion,” he states. “The album starts from a place of realizing that everything is temporary, what we love eventually changes or leaves us, and regardless we continue to search and find our way back home.” If you’ve ever caught air in your lungs or felt your heart beating in your chest, there’s no doubt that you’ll find some level of connection with Observatory’s open-hearted, instantly classic-sounding rock.

Observatory

Music US

Buy Aeon Station - Observatory (Vinyl, CD) now from Rough Trade - independent purveyors of great music, since 1976.