Commoner set debut album Former Self for November as Cemetery Dogs lands
Commoner have announced their debut album, Former Self, due for release on 13 November via Pure Noise Records. The Phoenix emo and alternative band have also shared a double single, pairing Cemetery Dogs with Sirens A Block Away.
The two songs offer an early view of the record’s emotionally direct approach. Cemetery Dogs leans into turbulent rhythms and a bruised sense of loss, while Sirens A Block Away takes a more uneasy, atmospheric route.
The band describe Cemetery Dogs as the album’s defining introduction, saying: “Cemetery Dogs had to be the focus single for the record, as themes of losing the connection to an individual’s character you used to know are so apparent. It’s a crushing thing to witness someone struggle so far beyond your ability to aid – and this track embodies that. This track sets the tone for Former Self, and the themes to follow.”
Watch the video for Cemetery Dogs here, while the double single is also available to hear now.
Reflection, change and the people left behind
Produced by long-time collaborator Zach Tuch, Former Self explores the distance between who someone was and who they have become. The record follows the earlier track Breach, which the band characterise as a bridge between their previous material and the sound they have since developed.
Bassist Matthew Bryant said the album examines both personal memory and the changes witnessed in others: “The album has a lot of themes of childhood and your own former self, but it also discusses how people around you have changed—and missing somebody else’s former self. We have songs that look back on how you yourself used to be back in the day, but we have songs about how everyone else has changed too.”
Vocalist Romin Mattison added: “Former Self is a window of reflection for each of our lives. For what it’s been and how we’ve learned to move forward. People change, situations change, life is full of it. As a band, we have always gravitated towards the works of bands who touch on moments of time as they are your own. Instances in which the experience has felt shared, rather than being preached. Our debut full length was a meditative piece for all of the members, and has allowed us to close a chapter in our writing that we had all felt needed conclusion.”
Ten tracks including a Split Chain collaboration
The ten-track album opens with Cobalt Blue, featuring Split Chain, and includes both newly released singles alongside the title track.
- Cobalt Blue (feat. Split Chain)
- Passerby
- In Reserve
- Cemetery Dogs
- Sparks
- Sirens A Block Away
- Runner Up
- Former Self
- As Cold As It Gets
- Appendix
Former Self arrives on 13 November through Pure Noise Records. Pre-order the album here.
