News
Norm Due Out February 10 via ANTI-
Jan 18, 2023
By Mark Redfern
Andy Shauf is releasing a new album album, Norm, on February 10 via ANTI-. Now he has shared its third single, “Telephone,” via an animated music video for the song. Musician/animator Chad VanGaalen directed the “Telephone” video. More
World's Most Stressed Out Gardener Out March 19 on Sub Pop
Feb 23, 2021
By Joey Arnone
Chad VanGaalen has shared a new single titled “Nightwaves.” It will be featured on his upcoming album, World’s Most Stressed Out Gardener, due out March 19 via Sub Pop. VanGaalen has also announced that on April 8 he will be livestreaming a performance from his studio in Calgary, Alberta via NoonChorus. More
World’s Most Stressed Out Gardener Out March 19 on Sub Pop
Jan 28, 2021
By Joey Arnone
Chad VanGaalen has announced a new album, World’s Most Stressed Out Gardener, which will be out on March 19 on Sub Pop. Concurrent with the announcement, VanGaalen has shared a video, which he animated himself, for the lead single “Samurai Sword.” This upcoming Saturday (Jan. 30), the video will make its TV debut on Adult Swim’s Toonami. More
Details of the Band’s First Studio Album in 21 Years Are Still Forthcoming
Jun 23, 2020
By Julian Roberts-Grmela
Sun Ra Arkestra have announced that later this year they are releasing their first studio recording in 21 years via Strut Records and they have shared a new recording of the classic “Seductive Fantasy,” which was initially recorded in 1979 for On Jupiter. Artist/musician Chad Van Gaalen created an animated video to accompany the new recording. More
Thin Mind Due Out Friday via Sub Pop
Jan 23, 2020
By Christopher Roberts
Wolf Parade are releasing a new album, Thin Mind, tomorrow (Friday, January 24) via Sub Pop. Now they have shared a video for one of the album’s singles, “Julia Take Your Man Home.” Fellow musician and labelmate Chad VanGaalen directed the strange animated video. More
Part of Adult Swim's Singles Program
Sep 24, 2018
By Christopher Roberts
Chad VanGaalen has shared a new song, “Monopoly Arp.” The standalone single is part of Adult Swim’s Singles Program and can be heard below. VanGaalen is playing the first ever Adult Swim festival in downtown Los Angeles, which is October 5-7. More
Plus Suede, Beak>, Steve Mason, Petitie Noir, and a Wrap-up of the Week's Other Notable New Tracks
Sep 22, 2018
By Christopher Roberts
In many instances an album’s strongest songs are shared before the album’s release. There were several albums released this week, however, that featured standout tracks that were not advance singles and so this week’s Songs of the Week features some of those, filtered in with other new singles released this week. More
The Rick and Morty Soundtrack Due Out September 28 via Sub Pop
Sep 19, 2018
By Christopher Roberts
Sub Pop are releasing the soundtrack to the hugely popular Adult Swim animated show Rick and Morty and now they have shared a lyric video for one of its tracks, “Stuttering Light,” a new song by Chad VanGaalen. More
God’s Favorite Customer Out Now via Sub Pop
Jul 15, 2018
By Christopher Roberts
Father John Misty (aka Josh Tillman) released a new album, God’s Favorite Customer, last month via Sub Pop worldwide (except for Europe, where it’s on Bella Union). Now he has shared a video for “Date Night.” Chad VanGaalen directed the colorful animated video, which features various fantastical creatures and includes Tillman riding a flying piano with bat wings. More
Light Information Due Out September 8 via Sub Pop
Jul 18, 2017
By Christopher Roberts
Chad VanGaalen is releasing a new album, Light Information, on September 8 via Sub Pop. He previously shared its first single, “Old Heads.” Now he shared another song from the album, “Pine and Clover,” via an animated video he created. Watch it below, followed by his upcoming tour dates. More
Light Information Due Out September 8 via Sub Pop
Jun 21, 2017
By Christopher Roberts
Chad VanGaalen has announced a new album, Light Information, and tour dates and shared its first single, “Old Heads.” Light Information is due out September 8 via Sub Pop. Below is “Old Heads,” followed by the album’s tracklist and cover art, and the tour dates. More
IV Due Out April 1 via Jajaguwar
Mar 03, 2016
By Christopher Roberts
Black Mountain are releasing their fourth album, the fittingly titled IV, on April 1 via Jajaguwar. The band had previously shared a video for “Mothers of the Sun,” the album’s eight-and-a-half-minute opening track. Now the band has shared an animated video for “Florian Saucer Attack.” Chad VanGaalen animated the bizarre clip, which debuted on Adult Swim’s website last night and will be airing on the channel later this month. It features an alien and a strange planet. More
Shrink Dust Out Now via Sub Pop
Aug 28, 2014
By Cody Ray Shafer
Chad VanGaalen has been described as weird probably too many times to count, so it’s no big surprise that his latest video for the Shrink Dust track “Monster” is a psychedelic horror-fest. More
Touring in Support of Diaper Island
Aug 03, 2011
By Margot Cooper Gruen
Chad VanGaalen has announced he will be touring the west coast for a week this fall in support of his fourth album, Diaper Island, released May 17 via Sub Pop. More
Interviews
Dark Data and Rhubarb Pie
Sep 07, 2017
By Laura Stanley
Chad VanGaalen speaks with me from his home in Calgary, Alberta on a landline. He doesn’t own a cellphone. “I don’t even like people phoning me on my landline, it just seems so overwhelming to me,” VanGaalen admits. In a world overrun by technology, not having a cellphone seems like a radical choice. Yet, it also offers an enviable level of freedom. More
Reviews
Mar 19, 2021
By Ian King
Now that the pandemic has been around for a full year, we are partially past the records that were delayed or wrapped up under quarantine, and on to albums that are directly influenced by this long spell of social distance and degrees of despair. Though its origins pre-date the global debacle, Calgary’s sound-and-visionary Chad VanGaalen side-eyes the abyss on his seventh-or-so studio album, World’s Most Stressed Out Gardener. More
May 22, 2014
By Kate Bennett
At this stage in the game, we sort of know what to expect when Calgary homebody Chad VanGaalen puts out a new album: woozy, spacious, acoustic-based tracks that cut beautiful, melancholy, desert-flower melodies with disturbing background noise; lyrics full of strange imagery that itches at your brain; sinewy vocal harmonies. More
