Angels in Science Fiction, the new album from St. Paul & The Broken Bones, is set for release April 21 via ATO Records. The record’s first single, “Sea Star,” is out today with an accompanying video, an homage to the band’s home state of Alabama that introduces the album’s themes—life and death, beauty and truth—directed by Gus Black. Check it out below..
Of the song, bandleader Paul Janeway says:
“‘Sea Star’ comes from a story told to me when I was young. The story goes that there was a man on the seashore, picking up starfish that had washed up and throwing them back into the sea.
A person walked by and said, ‘Sir, you’re not going to make a dent in this. It’s not possible.’ The man chucked a starfish into the ocean and said, ‘I made a difference for that one.’ Then picked up another one, threw it into the ocean and again said, ‘I made a difference for that one.’
I think about that story a lot in my own life, and I hope that the moral is one that I teach my child: ‘Try your best to make a difference, starting with the people that are around you.’ My daughter is a strong tide that has pulled me back in. Having a child can give people a feeling of redemption, and a renewed sense of purpose—especially when they’re feeling lost and empty. That theme found its way into ‘Sea Star.’”
Angels in Science Fiction was written in the span of a few weeks after Paul Janeway learned that his wife was pregnant with their daughter, Marigold. Following the examples set by greats like Aristotle, William James and John Steinbeck, Janeway penned the album as a series of letters to his then-unborn daughter.
“A few people told me it would be a good idea to write letters to my yet to be born daughter before she arrived into the world,” says Janeway. “That is what Angels in Science Fiction is. Themes throughout the album are faith, nature vs nurture, anxiety and beauty. This is a record I would have written whether I did this for a living or not. I don’t know if those records come along all the time.”
The album was recorded at Sam Phillips Recording Studio in Memphis, Tennessee and was produced by Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, John Prine, Elvis Presley). It follows the band’s critically acclaimed 2022 album, The Alien Coast.
ST. PAUL & THE BROKEN BONES—ANGELS IN SCIENCE FICTION
1. Chelsea
2. City Federal Building
3. Magnolia Trees
4. Sea Star
5. Heat Lightning
6. Angels in Science Fiction
7. Wolf in Rabbit Clothes
8. South Dakota
9. Oporto-Madrid Blvd
10. Lonely Love Song
11. Easter Bunny
12. Marigold
