Birmingham, Alabama trio Wray have shared ‘Sweet Sad Saint’, a previously unreleased track from the sessions for their 2020 album ‘Stream of Youth / Blank World’.

The band consists of David Brown on bass and vocals, David Swatzell on guitar and vocals, and Blake Wimberly on drums. Their music sits between shoegaze, dream pop, post-punk and garage rock, with a sound built around repetition, texture and restrained vocals.

‘Sweet Sad Saint’ arrives six years after ‘Stream of Youth / Blank World’. The album was shaped around two linked moods: ‘Stream of Youth’ leaned toward hope, while ‘Blank World’ moved into darker and more uneasy territory. The new track comes from that same period and fits with the band’s slow, atmospheric approach.

Speaking about the song, the band said: “‘Sweet Sad Saint’ comes from the recording sessions for ‘Stream of Youth / Blank World’. We couldn’t quite crack it at the time, so it fell to the side. Years later, we dug it up and found something worth chasing. A pristine mix from John McEntire (Tortoise, The Sea and Cake) took care of the rest.”

John McEntire, known for his work with Stereolab, Tortoise, Broken Social Scene and The Sea and Cake, mixed the track. The song continues Wray’s interest in layered guitars, motorik rhythm and a hazy, melancholic sound.

‘Stream of Youth / Blank World’ followed Wray’s self-titled 2014 debut and their 2016 album ‘Hypatia’. The album was self-produced at the home studio of Birmingham label Communicating Vessels in Woodlawn, with the band allowing the songs to develop over several years.

With ‘Sweet Sad Saint’, Wray return to one of the key periods in their catalogue and bring forward a track that stayed unheard until now.

Headline photo: Wray (Photo by Wes Frazier)

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