The new single from Brooklyn’s celestial rock band captures the energy of a live performance with polish, while offering a first taste of the forthcoming debut full-length
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You might know Nick LaFalce from his solo project turned full-fledged BK band, Atlas Engine. Maybe you recognize him as co-founder of new BFF-run Brooklyn label Favorite Friend Records. Or, if you lived in Jersey circa 15-ish ago, there’s a chance you remember a band by the name of either Redundant Joe or Reluctant Joe—no one really knows (by which I mean I can never, ever remember).
I initially encountered Nick via Atlas Engine, when I somehow convinced him to walk the proverbial plank as the first victim guest on the Bands do BK radio show in November 2019, and approximately five minutes in, I’d already decided we were going to be best friends. (And during post-show drinks at Our Wicked Lady, I probably told him.)
Perhaps it was the fact that he was wearing a t-shirt featuring a bear pilot that said “Flying is just plane fun!” or maaaaaaybe it was the ciders I drank on the train on the way to… and then during… the show. But delightful apparel and questionable amounts of alcohol aside, it’s most likely that I made this decision re: our destiny after falling in love with the sweet, sweet ~celestial rock~ that defines Atlas Engine‘s dreamy signature sound, most recently on display via singles like “Running,” “New Constellation” and “Where Have You Gone?”—
And, as of today, the BRAND-NEW SONG “Modern Mind,” which—a day ahead of its wide release, and a year and a half after Nick and I crammed into that little booth on Bogart—I’m incredibly stoked to premiere here!
In “Modern Mind,” group effort results in a real energy you can hear and feel—the kind we typically only (and can’t wait to once again) experience in a dark, crowded venue—and it’s easy to imagine this song kick-starting an Atlas Engine set the second we’re all once again allowed to go out, gather and grooooove.
“Now that we settled with a consistent lineup, it felt like the right time to bring our live sound into our recordings,” Nick told me. “Especially in a year where it’d be too easy to fall into complete seclusion, I knew this was the next step in the band’s evolution.”
Along with info on the recording process and strategy, Nick sent over some thoughts on the theme of the song itself:
“’Modern Mind’ is about how technology is outpacing our biological evolution and has forced us all into a constant state of anxiety,” the artist told me via text. “With so much information happening non-stop, we’re no longer able to be truly present without having to make a conscious effort.”
Rather than a one-off single, “Modern Mind” is just a taste of what’s to come soon from the band, here to whet your appetite for the ~sonic smorgasbord~ of upcoming, interconnected Atlas Engine releases: a series of singles, videos and EPs (released monthly!), culminating in Atlas Engine’s debut full-length: an ambitious album featuring 12 tracks that melt into one another to form a seamless and singular, full-on and feelings-full, lie-down-on-a-beanbag-stare-at-the-ceiling-and-hey-maybe-take-a-few-drugs™ listening experience—
One that, information deluge be damned, will definitely be something worth being truly, totally present for.
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Follow Atlas Engine at @atlasenginemusic, add the band to your Spotify playlists and scoop up tunes (and tees) on bandcamp now!
Feature image (provided by the band): Keira Zhou