“The Static Age...draw from three decades of independent music to create terse, melodic dark-wave pop that sits entirely outside of current revivals and trends. With influences ranging from the Psychedelic Furs to early U2 and, more directly, bands like Joy Division and the Cure, The Static Age reconstitute melancholy punk music into smart, weathered, romantic and unbridled rock and roll.” -Status Magazine

Following the success of last year’s Neon Nights Electric Lives album, The Static Age are set to release their new full length, Blank Screens, on ReIgnition Recordings (The Beautiful Mistake, Drowningman, Ultimate Fakebook) this fall. Blank Screens captures The Static Age’s atmospheric warmth, keyboard swells, chorus-drenched bass, ethereal vocals and effect-laden guitars—the band creates a sound that references disparate parts of the last 30 years of post-punk and alternative music, and presents a new step in the evolution of those movements.

Anticipation for new material is at an all time high with new songs, recently debuting on PureVolume.com, receiving over 50,000 plays in the space of a few days. Speaking about Blank Screens, vocalist/guitarist Andrew Paley says, “It’s an extension of where we've always been headed, but the difference is we’re more focused now and we had a longer time to write songs for this release. We had 30 or 40 songs to choose from.” Among the tracks chosen to complete the release, “Lights In The Attic,” “The Bluebird Room,” and “The Last Light In The West” were composed solely by Paley who played all instruments on these sublime interludes. Indeed the songs range from dreamy pop soundscapes to fully fleshed out burners like “Trauma” and “Cherry Red” with galloping drums and layers of textures and sounds. Surprisingly, there remains a subtle theme linking all the songs across the album. The digital version of the album (available through iTunes, Napster, MTV Urge, and Downloadpunk among others) will also include an exclusive remix of Trauma by ocelot mthrfckrs which features members of The Rise (Ferret Music, ReIgnition).

A self-professed media junkie and former political science student Paley explains, “The title Blank Screens was taken from a song on the album and is a comment on the state of western media culture.” Songs like “Count the Dead” also enhance the subersive nature of Paley’s songs. Though it might not sound like your traditional protest record, Blank Screens is exactly that. In his own way, Paley shows that political overtones need not come from bands screaming bloody murder.

And, Paley’s dissent is supported by a truly capable rhythm section. Rounding out the band are bassist Adam Meilleur, keyboardist Sarah-Rose Cameron, and Tim Alek Mulley on drums. The Static Age started playing shows in Burlington, VT in 2002 where Paley, who had never sung in a band before, and bassist Meilleur (the last two remaining original members) had played together for years in the punk scene. From that background, they decided to do a new band without preconceived expectations. Out of the jamming came the delicate but sonically expansive music that became The Static Age. “We were used to DIY albums and tours, so we really had no preconceived goals for this,” Paley admits. Within the first six months the band self released The Cost Of Living which quickly sold through a 1,000 copies and was picked up by a Boston, MA-based label which sold through its own pressing.

The band soon found themselves opening up for such artists as Hot Hot Heat and Interpol -- says Paley: “but people who think we are part of some post-punk revival sect don’t realize when the seeds for this band were planted in late 2001, there was no scene, Interpol hadn’t broken through yet, and the Faint weren’t making much noise. We started out playing basement shows and punk clubs. We had a thrashier set of songs we would break out whenever we felt like it.” Based on the strength of their first recording the band was chosen by AFI to open their Canadian tour. On that tour another support band The Explosion were also wowed by The Static Age’s performance. “They came up to us the second day and said that they were starting their own label and would love to work with us.” The fruit of that labor was the band’s proper debut full length Neon Nights Electric Lives, which was released on Tarantulas Records and boasted remixes from Jade Puget of AFI and Daz of The Explosion. A video for the song Vertigo went to #1 on FUSE TV’s “Oven Fresh” Program for an entire month. When their drummer bowed out for personal reasons in the last half of 2005, Colby Linder of Say Anything played on multiple tours with the group. In addition to shows with groups such as Mooney Suzuki, Thursday, Pelican and The Bronx, The Static Age has toured with groups such as Kane Hodder, The Spill Canvas, Hit The Lights, Small Tonws Burn A Little Slower, The Kinison and Paulson.