{"title":"The Van Pelt","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Van Pelt were an emo\/indie rock band from New York, NY known for their blend of abstract lyrics with music that had more in common with art rock than the hardcore bands that the members had previously played in. They originally existed from 1993 to 1997 and have since performed numerous reunion shows. In April 2014, they issued a record of previous unreleased material recorded around 1996 and 1997. A fourth studio album, Artisans \u0026amp; Merchants, was released in March 2023.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter disbanding in 1997, Chris and Toko formed a new band called The Lapse that same year. Brian later joined the band Jets to Brazil in 1998.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you're a fan of emo and indie rock with thought-provoking lyrics and experimental soundscapes, you'll love The Van Pelt's unique musical style. Check out their discography for a captivating journey through their artistic evolution.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"artisans-and-merchants-2","title":"Artisans and Merchants","description":"\u003cp\u003eAfter twenty-five years of waiting, New York City cult indie favourites The Van Pelt release their upcoming fourth studio full-length, titled \u003ci\u003eArtisans and Merchants\u003c\/i\u003e. Reunion show soundchecks revealed that this band has a voice that was prematurely muted by their inability to see clearly in the thick of their rise.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMore than two decades later, The Van Pelt has returned to explore what was left behind with a new collection of songs, \u003ci\u003eArtisans and Merchants\u003c\/i\u003e. This is not a reunion album. This is vindication. For lovers of The Van Pelt, listening to \u003ci\u003eArtisans and Merchants\u003c\/i\u003e is like hearing the voice of a dear friend you haven't seen in years - a friend you used to share countless beers with over banter that went nowhere other than delivering a solid night. Your friend is older, they've changed. In some ways you're worried for them, looks like they might be teetering on the brink of something. In other ways, it's the same old them, a nugget of a soul too unique to ever be altered. It's for those unfamiliar with The Van Pelt though for whom we should be truly jealous. This is a stand-alone album, incredible vital songwriting in and of itself regardless of the long history this band has. The climax of the single \"Image of Health\" perhaps describes the beautiful desperation best: \"And you never felt more alive \/ Than when the priest came to read you your rites!\"\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gringo Records","offers":[{"title":"Blue LP","offer_id":50383742075211,"sku":"2007872","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP","offer_id":50383741911371,"sku":"2007871","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/900d0020-40b7-f140-a796-73676ed25ce3_b752c2c6_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726277070"},{"product_id":"sultans-of-sentiment","title":"Sultans of Sentiment","description":"\u003cp\u003e90s NYC indie heroes The Van Pelt have had a lasting power far greater than so many of the other once bigger bands of that era have had. The sort of interest that has neither waxed nor waned over the decades since they disbanded, yet just mysteriously continues on despite their discography being out of print since the end of the last millennium. So what is it that sets them apart? Too soft to have ran with the AmRep or Touch and Go crowds, not hip enough to have made sense on Matador or Merge, ernest yet not histrionic enough to make it onto the “best emo bands” lists, not weird enough to be on bills with Arto Lindsay and Thurston Moore, etc. In a sense, their outsider status comes not from the wings, but from the dead center eye of the storm. The 90s were happening all around them, they were witnesses thereof, yet they emerged transcendent of it all. You Follow? Barcelona’s La Castanya records is treating us with the first ever rerelease of the two Van Pelt albums to mark the 20th anniversary of \u003ci\u003eSultans of Sentiment\u003c\/i\u003e, their benchmark album. They teased us in 2014 that this might be on the docket with the release of Imaginary Third, a collection of singles and unreleased Van Pelt tracks which were originally intended to have been the components of their third album, including the alt-famous \u003ci\u003eSpeeding Train\u003c\/i\u003e. Now we’ll finally have access to their entire discography. The first album, \u003ci\u003eStealing From Our Favorite Thieves\u003c\/i\u003e is an explosion of anthems belted out as if the war was already lost yet they were hoisting that tattered banner anyhow until there wasn’t a shred to salvage. The momentum coming out of that album had every major label in the States salivating at the possibility of turning them into the next Nirvana. Instead, The Van Pelt followed it up by pulling the van into the garage, leaving the engine running, funneling the exhaust into their lungs, and blissfully deciding to bow out of the race with the epic \u003ci\u003eSultans of Sentiment.\u003c\/i\u003e Of course as the story goes, their intended financial flop was the exact opus that jettisoned them into the history books. Buy both albums. You’ll need them both.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"LA Castanya","offers":[{"title":"Green | LP","offer_id":50481787666763,"sku":"2004064","price":23.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/f18b3eb4-ec88-4d96-918e-e0c244a47f2a_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727544798"},{"product_id":"stealing-from-our-favorite-thieves","title":"Stealing From Our Favorite Thieves","description":"","brand":"LA Castanya","offers":[{"title":"Yellow LP","offer_id":51245864059211,"sku":"2004065","price":23.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/93dd80bc-409d-4d5d-a8e5-65d5d23b803a_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1739228745"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_22867630_thumbnail_4096_4f89b744-6386-45d7-9cfc-04d21a043f7e.jpg?v=1726277041","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/the-van-pelt.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}