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Sep 21, 2021 By Joey Arnone Photography by Ebru Yildiz

Aeon Station (the project led by Kevin Whelan of The Wrens) have signed to Sub Pop, and will be releasing their debut album, Observatory, on December 10. The band has subsequently shared its lead single, “Queens.” Listen below, and also check out the album’s tracklist and cover art.

Whelan speaks about “Queens” in a press release: “This song was inspired by one of my all-time favorite songs, ‘The Winner Takes it All’ by ABBA. It’s about betting on the real you. Like a game of high-stakes poker, you push all your chips to the center of the table and aren’t afraid to go ‘all in.’ It starts with a solo vocal, framing the story to come, the drums then propel the song forward, with a force working its way to a climax of a repeating line—‘You said it was all in.’”

Observatory was written by Whelan over a span of 14 years. “It’s the best I’ve done and may ever do frankly,” he states. “It’s written over such a long period of my life. Music I did in the past was tinged with expectations or presumptions, but this time, it was just for me. The album starts from a place of realizing that everything is temporary, what we love eventually changes or leaves us, and regardless we continue to search and find our way back home.”

Whelan concludes: “I hope people feel a sense of strength when they hear this album. Most importantly, I hope that it connects to them in some personal way.”

Observatory Tracklist:

1. Hold On
2. Leaves
3. Fade
4. Everything at Once
5. Move
6. Queens
7. Empty Rooms
8. Air
9. Better Love
10. Alpine Drive

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