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Chicago-based rock band Algren is announcing the May 2009 release of their first full-length album, A Wayward Sound Floods the Streets, as well as the release of an accompanying graphic novel that further explores the themes of their music. The album and book will be packaged and sold together at their shows and various independent music and book retailers around the Chicago area.
The short graphic novel is an abstract work featuring a protagonist who witnesses the destruction of his city and struggles to fight the corrupting influences. The story's look, characters, and environment all share the social observationist perspective taken by Algren, many of whose songs are reflections on corporatization, consumerism, cultural decay, and societal resignation.
The band members brought the graphic novel idea to local writer Jason Hissong and Wisconsin artist Brian Defferding of Deftoons Comics and Illustration, who worked together to craft an original story and design influenced by the eleven songs that will appear on Wayward Sound. Hissong incorporated song titles and lyrics into the script while Defferding used his underground drawing style to provide the perfect visual complement to the music.
All of the songs appearing on Algrens album were recorded at Gremlen Studios by head engineer Sam Beckley, with whom the band had worked previously on various demos and single song recordings. The album is currently being mastered at Colossal Studios in Chicago, IL.
Algrens album release show is tentatively scheduled at The Double Door in Chicago, IL, on May 9, 2009.
Algren has been featured on Q101, 97.9 The Loop, Chicago's free daily newspaper Red Eye, and numerous other media outlets. Algren is also one of the founding members of Chicago Noise Machine, a unique consortium of local bands that are collaborating on a series of concerts and compilation albums over 2008 and 2009.
