7Seconds‘ 1986 album New Wind is being reissued alongside a new version of the LP reimagined by original producer Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi). Both will be packaged together, with a vinyl and digital release set for May 23rd via Trust Records.
The reimagined version has been retitled to Change in My Head, taken from one of two previously unreleased tracks from the original sessions (“Change in My Head” and “Compro”) that were restored by MacKaye and Inner Ear Studios’ Don Zientara. MacKaye’s version was also remixed in its entirety — marking his first-ever remix of an album — and reorders the original 13-song tracklist, adding the aforementioned unreleased cuts. “Change in My Head” can be streamed now.
The other half of the reissue contains New Wind in its original form, as the original tapes were restored by Dan Johnson of Audio Archiving Services and remastered by Michael Graves.
The Nevada band’s second proper full-length, New Wind was produced in two sessions: one with longtime friend Ian MacKaye at Inner Ear Studios in Washington D.C. in the Fall of 1985, and a second at Radio Tokyo Studios in Venice, California, early the following year. The album is considered a turning point in 7Seconds’ discography, blending the band’s established brand of pioneering hardcore with more post-punk and melodic influences.
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“The whole time period, between the winter of 1985 and all throughout 1986, was arguably the most important and life-changing period for 7Seconds,” reflected frontman Kevin Seconds via a press release. “We all were starting to feel like the adults that we fought so rigorously to never become. Members were getting married, having kids, trying to hold down real jobs and face responsibilities while still maintaining our so-called ‘hardcore cred’ and attempting to feel relevant. It was an incredibly emotional and complicated time for all of us but man, did it ever make us tough and more determined to do what we wanted to do as creative people and as a band.”
Added bassist Steve Youth: “There were certainly bands that came before us. Bad Religion, they made records like Into the Unknown, where they shifted their sounds. People were calling T.S.O.L. L.O.S.T, but I loved their second album, Beneath the Shadows, which is more melodic and psychedelic. The Rites of Spring record was also very important to me. Egg Hunt. The boys were listening to U2 as well as the Buck Pets. I was listening to nothing but metal: Metallica, Megadeth, Dark Angel, but I was also listening to a lot of R.E.M.”
Coinciding with the release of New Wind/Change in My Head, Kevin Seconds and MacKaye will be hosting a live in-person conversation about the project on April 15th at Brain Dead Studios in Los Angeles. You can find tickets and more information at this location.
Pre-order the New Wind/Change in My Head reissue on vinyl via Trust Records. Stream “Change in My Head” and see the artwork and tracklist for Change in My Head below.
Change in My Head Artwork:
Change in My Head Tracklist:
01. New Wind
02. Tied Up
03. Opinion of Feelings
04. Grown Apart
05. Calendar
06. Put These Words
07. Man Enough To Care
08. Compro (Unreleased)
09. Somebody Help Me Scream
10. Change In My Head (Unreleased)
11. Expect To Change
12. Just One Day
13. The Inside
14. Still Believe
15. The Night Away
New Wind Artwork:
New Wind Tracklist:
01. The Night Away
02. New Wind
03. Somebody Help Me Scream
04. Tied Up In Rhythm
05. Grown Apart
06. Man Enough To Care
07. Opinion Of Feelings
08. The Inside
09. Calendar
10. Expect To Change
11. Still Believe
12. Put These Words To Music
13. Just One Day