Magnetic Morning (feat. Interpol & Swervedriver) Announce Limited-Edition Vinyl Reissue of Debut Album ‘A.M.’ | Stream ‘Indian Summer’
For those who know, Magnetic Morning is one of those killer noughties projects that flew just under the radar. Their 2008 debut, ‘A.M.’, has been a major cult favorite and, frankly, impossible to find.
Now, the collaborative group, featuring Swervedriver’s Adam Franklin and Interpol’s Sam Fogarino, is finally giving that record the proper treatment with a fully remastered vinyl reissue via Outer Battery Records.
‘A.M.’ was originally a quiet, self-released digital drop. It all started with a chance meeting on a snowy Lower East Side night, courtesy of The Big Takeover’s Jack Rabid. Fogarino remembers the introduction perfectly: “After I impulsively proclaimed my undying affinity for Swervedriver, the effortless flow of conversation was only outmatched by our wine consumption.” That bonding led to a musical partnership built on a “cut-and-paste approach to songwriting.”
The sound they hit on is huge: a blend of shoegaze atmosphere, Krautrock drive, and hazy psychedelia. It feels totally different from their main bands, even with Fogarino’s unmistakable rhythmic muscle and Franklin’s layered guitar work. They recorded the album in various spots, including a studio right at the bottom of Fogarino’s garden in Athens, GA. The whole thing was a legit super-collaboration, with Jimmy LaValle of The Album Leaf and Fred Blasco (Interpol’s touring keyboardist) dropping in. Franklin is clearly still proud of it, saying some of his “favourite songs I’ve ever been involved in writing are on this album.”
This new pressing is what fans have been begging for. The limited-edition bone-white vinyl has been freshly remastered by Tim Turan. It also features totally new artwork and striking photography by legendary rock photographer Pat Graham (who has shot everyone from Johnny Marr to Fugazi).
What a combination of expansive post-punk and heavy drone this is. And since it’s Halloween, you can stream the ‘Indian Summer’ from the reissued album right now, exclusively with our full interview! ‘A.M.’ drops on November 28, 2025, courtesy of Outer Battery Records. You can pre-order it now.
“It’s like misty morning mood music”
You first met in New York almost twenty years ago. What do you both remember about that first meeting, and what made you think, “We should make music together”?
Sam Fogarino: From what I recall, upon first meeting, we got on fast, as people. I was already a huge Swervedriver fan and was interested in playing music with Adam in any way that could happen. And soon thereafter, we were writing songs together, and soon became neighbours in Jersey, NJ, for a year or so.
Adam Franklin: Perhaps it was the wine? We just got along fine for starters and after chatting about music and bands, it seemed like our tastes dovetailed and diverged and we were both up for a new musical challenge. Being neighbours for a while made getting together nice and easy.
You’ve both been part of era-defining bands. What was liberating or different about stepping into Magnetic Morning together?
Sam: I think there was an ease in the way we communicated ideas to each other, which is always appreciated. As well as quite rare in a collaborative endeavour. Being outside of both, Swervedriver and Interpol, too, felt kind of liberating in itself. Like there was far less pressure to be put under and no (major label) expectations to deal with.
Looking back, what do you think Magnetic Morning gave each of you as artists that your other projects didn’t?
Adam: The first song ideas were Sam’s, ‘Cold War Kids,’ ‘DontGoToDreamstate’ and the like. I forget where ‘Yesterday’s Flowers’ came from, but I think that was Sam’s also while I brought in the Kinks cover of ‘The Way Love Used To Be’. That made perfect sense to me as Sam had a bunch of ideas he was messing with and wanted to work on and I can be your dream wing guy in a musical capacity, despite being known as the main songwriter in my own band. For me it was fun to step into the role of honing and editing raw ideas and helping turn them into song arrangements. I loved what he had and it’s interesting to see how a musical aesthetic can naturally develop. By the time of the album, we both brought in 50% of the ideas.
Sam: For me, it was being way more involved in the songwriting than anything else I’d done in the past, up to that point in time. On top of that, with an artist I already had massive respect for. It could not have gotten much better than that.
The record blends shoegaze, Krautrock, and psychedelia. How consciously did you aim for that hybrid sound, or did it emerge naturally from your writing sessions?
Adam: Not consciously at all and I believe that quote has only recently been retrospectively applied to the project, but I like it and think it’s appropriate. We are both fans of Neu! and Kraftwerk and Sam would mess around with his synths and can motorik technique for days so that covers the German thing. While I guess I’m the “OG shoegazer” and am bringing some of those tones. I think there is something very psychedelic about this record but not in an Electric Prunes-type way, as much as I love the ‘Prunes. I just think some of these songs sound like dreams – odd, disassociated lyrics with warped sounds to match. To me it’s like misty morning mood music.
There’s a cinematic, full-band energy throughout A.M. even though it began as a studio project. How did you achieve that lushness in the recordings?
Sam: Adam and I are both band-centric types. I think that it’s a quality built into what we do. Although we did start out as a studio project, we brought in additional players to record with, as well. And will probably continue to do so in the future, to keep attaining a full band feel.
Adam: The first Setting Suns EP was recorded by just the two of us and although we finished it at Electric Lady it had begun on our laptops and some of it was quite lo-fi. Like I was quite into the sound of the condenser mic on my MacBook for vocals, for example. But that EP still ended up having that “cinematic” feel which was carried through to the album and of course by the time of A.M. we had Jimmy LaValle, Blasco and Josh onboard bringing that full band energy also.
A.M. was originally self-released in 2008 and has become a bit of a cult record. How does it feel to see it remastered and reissued all these years later?
Adam: I’m extremely happy to see it remastered and reissued as some of those songs are my favourite songs I’ve ever been involved with. We’re also all happy that Jimmy LaValle played a new piano on some songs which has made a huge difference. We were all trying to figure out in 2025 why we made certain decisions in 2008 but one of the things was only having access to an upright piano on that session which didn’t have such a full sound, so we were all excited to have him perform those parts again and the whole album just sounds better and fuller today.
Sam: It’s kinda weird, to be honest. In a really great way. Adam and I always wanted to find a way to keep A.M. in print and available online. But it’s amazing to have the support of a solid record label, giving those songs a new chance at life, for a lot of new listeners.
Are there any plans to revisit A.M. live. Maybe a few shows or even new Magnetic Morning material?
Sam: On both fronts, I certainly hope so! New material would be relatively easy to deliver, compared to what it takes just to do a handful of small shows, in this day and age. That said, I’m up for it. Adam?
Adam: We are mixing a couple of new recordings this very day! These are new arrangements of a couple older songs in a slightly different style. I had this different arrangement for ‘No Direction’ and the last time I played it was solo at a festival in Hong Kong, of all things. I was playing an understated afternoon set in a tent, and I saw Jack Black wandering past in the distance and he stopped for a while and listened and stroked his beard. Made me feel like I could probably graduate School of Rock if I really tried! I’m game for some shows; we haven’t discussed anything much. It would be fun to write some new material for sure, we shall see. The future remains unwritten. Thanks for taking the time.
Interpol Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / X / Bandcamp / YouTube
Swervedriver Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / X / Bandcamp / YouTube
The Album Leaf Website / Facebook / Instagram / X / Bandcamp
Outer Battery Records Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp / YouTube
