The Wolfgang Press – Sad Surfer

The Wolfgang Press is back after nearly 30 years, they’ve just dropped a new track,”Sad Surfer”, and it’s a taste of their upcoming album “A 2nd Shape”, set to come out on September 27, 2024.

If you’re not familiar with these guys, they were a big deal in the post-punk scene back in the ’80s and ’90s. They were part of the 4AD Records family, which is a pretty cool damn thing if you’re into that era of music. The band broke up after their 1995 album, but now they’re back with original members Michael Allen and Andrew Gray, plus Andrew’s brother Stephen.

“Sad Surfer” is their first new song in 28 years, and it’s got this off-kilter drum machine beat that’ll get stuck in your head. The song’s got an interesting backstory. It’s inspired by Richard Dadd, this Victorian painter who made these wild, imaginary landscapes full of fairies and supernatural stuff. Dadd had a pretty tragic life – he killed his dad thinking he was the devil, and spent most of his life painting in mental hospitals.

For their new album, The Wolfgang Press decided to go old school. They recorded everything on tape, played live as a band, and limited themselves to an 8-track machine. No computers involved.

So if you’re into post-punk or just curious about what a band sounds like after a 30-year break, give “Sad Surfer” a listen. It might just surprise you.