Joel RL Phelps & The Downer Trio have announced the release of their long awaited new LP, Gala, on Tuesday, September 17 via Triple Crown Audio Recordings of Canada. The album features Phelps (the former guitarist/vocalist in Silkworm) delivering twelve songs that weave between humbled introspection and fractured, distorted guitars.
Gala is the first new album from Joel RL Phelps & The Downer Trio since 2004’s Customs, a record praised by Pitchfork’s Stephen M. Deunser for it’s “darkly existential drama and gravity.” On the Troy Glessner (Propagandhi, Damien Jurado, Pedro the Lion) recorded Gala, Phelps, guitarist/bassist Robert Mercer & drummer William Herzog have returned with what might be their most powerful work to date. There are very few songwriters on this continent that can rival Phelps, and his lyrical & instrumental prowess is as keen as ever, despite an extended stretch out of the public eye.
https://soundcloud.com/matt-21-1/joel-rl-phelps-the-downer-trio
