Quiet Hounds Announce New Album, Shake Dont Shatter, Share 1st Single

Quiet Hounds are a bit of an enigma. Sure they aren’t the first band to give away their music via free downloads, but that only tells half the story. Since their first self titled release in 2011, and the subsequent follow up full length LPs, 2012’s Megaphona and 2014’s The Wild Hunt, the Quiet Hounds have kept rather silent on who they actually are, only really mentioning that they are from the South. They haven’t given away the names of the band members, choosing instead to wear hound masks during interviews and photo shoots. Instead of hiring big PR firms to help promote their music, they’ve relied only on word of mouth. The focus here has been solely on the music, and that’s all that ultimately matters.

Even though the quartet doesn’t play a lot of live shows, when they do, it’s an experience. These guys aren’t just musicians, they are artists, carefully curating every detail of their live show, telling a story through their music with actors, props, and more helping spread their message for the evening. Over the last few years, the band has played a couple handful of shows across the country. But in their hometown of Atlanta is where the magic has really happened, selling out unusual venues such as Paris On Ponce, The Goat Farm, The Swan House at Atlanta History Center and more. The venue itself is just another piece of the puzzle in their stories and make the Quiet Hounds unique.

Relying on word of mouth to spread their music, the superior musicianship and songwriting, in addition to the stellar live shows has helped the bands gather adoring fans across the nation. Fans have driven and flown long distances to catch the live show when the chance is available.

But over the last 18 months the band has gone through a transition. The lead singer and primary songwriter had to relocate to California, forcing the band to look deep into it’s soul. It nearly lead to the dissolution of the group with it’s main songwriter isolated from his beloved bandmates on the other side of the US. Without the ability to be together to rehearse, write, and work out melodies, their creativity was put to the test. How would the band continue on?

Without a studio for the lead vocalist, the band carried on, with recording happening in conference rooms, in the car, etc. The band shared files using the interwebs they’ve embraced to help spread their music instead to collaborate, using late night Skype sessions to work out tracks. The crutch that seemed on the verge of tearing them apart, instead strengthened the band.

This week the band shared plans to release their latest album, Shake Dont Shatter, on August 31st, 2015. Not only that, but the band is getting a little more personal. Each Hound will be sharing the stories of the emotional new album through their own eyes as they work up to the release, giving us more insight into who this band really is. Follow along their journey over on their website at shake.quiethounds.com where today some of the Hounds gave in-depth insight (including demos) into the making of the new album first track “Hunter Gather”. It’s a fascinating look into the making of a record.

You can view the emotional first installment below as the lead Hound gives a touching insight into the move, and the recording process from the West Coast:

“Home. It’s somewhere or something different for each of us, yet it is a feeling that we all understand. It is tastes, sounds, and smells that call to us. But more than anything, it is a deep-rooted sense of belonging that only a magic combination of place and people can evoke. When we are apart from those things that we love most for long periods of time, there’s a sense that something at our center is amiss.”

In addition to the teasers of the new Quiet Hound tracks you will be getting as you follow along on their journey, today the Quiet Hounds have shared the first single off of Shake Dont Shatter: “Magnolia”. The single is a gorgeous, highly visual track that could be the center of a perfect scene in a cross country movie, or driving through the city lights. The track quickly goes into a catchy chorus before working it’s way into a perfect strings section providing the highly emotional, yet still uplifting ode to “Magnolia”, to home.

Listen to “Magnolia” on Soundcloud here:

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