''New Constellation'' is the sixth studio album by American

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band

Toad the Wet Sprocket Toad the Wet Sprocket is an American alternative rock band formed in Santa Barbara, California, in 1986. The band at the time consisted of vocalist/guitarist Glen Phillips, guitarist Todd Nichols, bassist Dean Dinning, and drummer Randy Guss, ...

, released October 15, 2013, through Abe's Records. It is available on CD,

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

and as a

digital download Digital download may refer to: *Downloading, the processing of copying data to a computer from an external source *Digital distribution, a method of downloading software or audio-visual media as opposed to buying it at a traditional point of sale * ...

. Financed with more than $250,000 from approximately 6,300 contributors on the

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...

website

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

, it is their first full-length studio release since the band's 1997 album '' Coil''. This marks the final album with longtime drummer

Randy Guss Randel "Randy" Guss (born March 7, 1967) is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the band Toad the Wet Sprocket from its formation in 1986 until he stopped touring in 2017 and left the band in 2020. Career Guss formed Toad the ...

, who had been with the band since its formation in 1986, before his departure in 2020.

Background and recording

Following the band's official breakup in 1998 the members played numerous shows and released several albums, including a compilation of hits and fan favorites in 1999 ('' P.S. (A Toad Retrospective)''), a live album in 2004 ('' Welcome Home: Live at the Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara 1992'') and a greatest hits album in 2011 (''All You Want''). The band recorded two new studio tracks for ''P.S. (A Toad Retrospective)'' and a

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

song originally performed by

Sam Phillips Samuel Cornelius Phillips (January 5, 1923 – July 30, 2003) was an American disc jockey, songwriter and record producer. He was the founder of Sun Records and Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where he produced recordings by Elvis Presley, R ...

titled "It Doesn't Feel Like Christmas" in 2011. In an interview with

Yahoo Music Yahoo Music was a brand under which Yahoo provided music services including Internet radio, a digital music store, music streaming service, media player software, and original programming. Yahoo Music was sold to Rhapsody in early 2008. Pro ...

published on July 29, 2014, singer/guitarist Glen Phillips described the one-off shows and the time period around them:

Three to four years ago, it started feeling like fun again. We started enjoying each other’s company and remembered what made it good and we kind of got out of our own inter-personal dramas a little bit. At some point, it felt like it would be a good idea to make another record, to actually enjoy each other’s company and make some good art again.

On March 22, 2013, it was announced on the band's

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

page that the recording process of their new album was finished. The album was produced, engineered and mixed by

Mikal Blue Michael Blue (né Waggitt; born 3 March 1966) is an English record producer, songwriter, audio engineer and mixer. He has been credited on releases for pop and alternative rock acts including Colbie Caillat, Jason Reeves, Jason Mraz, Five For ...

at Revolver Studios in

Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, located in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles. Approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown Los Angeles, it is named after the many oak trees pr ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Funding

To fund the album, the band decided to use the crowdfunding source Kickstarter with hopes of raising $50,000 within a few months. The goal was reached in just 20 hours and eventually surpassed $250,000.

Release

On June 29, 2013, the full album (known as the Advance Digital Download Deluxe Edition) was made available as a download to contributors of the Kickstarter campaign. The band put together several bundles of the release based on the amount pledged. Some packages included signed copies, limited editions and even personal appearances. The physical and retail digital release came October 15, 2013, through the band's

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

, Abe's Records.

Critical reception

''New Constellation'' received mostly positive feedback from music critics. Michael Perone of ''WhatCulture!'' describes the album's tracks as having "a sunny pop sheen reminiscent of their home state’s weather," and that "it’s difficult to get any of the melodies out of your head." Fred Thomas of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

writes, "Older, wiser, and with a newfound hopefulness that wasn't there in their younger days, Toad deliver an uncluttered and thoughtful next step of their ongoing songcraft."

Track listing

Charts

''New Constellation'' debuted at No. 97 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 4,000 copies in its first week of release.

Personnel

Credits adapted from

;Toad the Wet Sprocket *

Dean Dinning Toad the Wet Sprocket is an American alternative rock band formed in Santa Barbara, California, in 1986. The band at the time consisted of vocalist/guitarist Glen Phillips, guitarist Todd Nichols, bassist Dean Dinning, and drummer Randy Guss, w ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

, keyboards,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

–

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

* Todd Nichols – engineer,

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

, backing vocals * Glen Phillips –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

, engineer,

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

, keyboards,

ukulele The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...

;Other musicians *

– keyboards, ukulele *Zac Rae – keyboards *Billy Hawn – percussion *

Greg Leisz Gregory Brian Leisz ( ; born September 18, 1949) is an American musician. He is a songwriter, recording artist, and producer. He plays guitar, dobro, mandolin, banjo, lap steel and pedal steel guitar. Biography Leisz grew up in the garage ba ...

–

lap steel guitar The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar or lap slide guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of pla ...

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

;Technical personnel *Andrew Williams – string arrangements *Mikal Blue – engineer, mixing,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

*Jon Marinos – engineer *Eric Boulanger – mastering *Doug Sax – mastering *

Kii Arens Kii Arens (born May 7, 1967) is an American contemporary, pop-artist, graphic designer and director. He is the owner of La-La Land Gallery in Los Angeles. In 2021 Arens was part of the dearMoon project and created numerous Non-fungible token ...

– design *Ben Ciccati –

illustration An illustration is a decoration, interpretation, or visual explanation of a text, concept, or process, designed for integration in print and digitally published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vi ...

s * Rob Shanahan –

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control 2013 albums Kickstarter-funded albums Self-released albums Toad the Wet Sprocket albums Albums produced by Mikal Blue Crowdfunded albums