Painted Shield Releases New Song '4th of July'

Today, Painted Shield have shared their new single "4th of July," their first release of new music since their 2020 self-titled debut album. The group has also announced plans to release a new full-length album via Loosegroove Records in 2022.

"The lyrics to this song were inspired by the stories of friends of mine who have served in the military," explains songwriter Mason Jennings. "It touches on the recovery work needed to integrate back into civilian life after being in conflict. Also, most of my friends who joined the military were coming from troubled homes and were looking to find a 'way out' by joining. This song is about bringing these inner children home to get the love they never received, as well as sending love to the actual children affected by war around the world everyday. There is a tension represented that I hope encapsulates and reflects the human struggle, the struggle for peace and love in the face of violence and fear."

Painted Shield, who consists of Stone Gossard, Mason Jennings, Matt Chamberlain and Brittany Davis, is a testament to the power of artistic collaboration and creative synergy. After the release of their debut record, the group immediately began work on new material, and plan to release their new album next year.

"Yes. We are back" writes Stone Gossard. "This amazing collaboration has only just begun. Everyone has a hand on the new record with writing by Matt and Brittany playing a huge role in the scope of collection, Josh Evan's cosmic production and of course Mason's haunting, visceral stories. It's got it all."

Painted Shield has received widespread acclaim from outlets including Rolling Stone, Consequence of Sound, Spin, NPR's All Songs Considered, Billboard, The Seattle Times, and more. Guitar World describes the album as "a brooding, electronica-infused marriage of Gossard's syncopated hard-rock riffs and Jennings' rich vocal range," while Mojo declares, "For a record made entirely separately, it manages to conjure up the glorious thrill of musicians making a racket in a room together. It's a lesson in the connective powers of music."

Driven by pulse-racing electronic and live drums, bursting with gritty and sometimes psychotic guitars that weave in and out of luxurious keyboard soundscapes, and brimming with glorious melodies that fill the senses and hang on tight, everything about Painted Shield's self-titled album - a genre-bending mix of roots rock, electronica and contemporary folk-pop - feels effortlessly assured.

The release of Painted Shield on Loosegroove Records also marked the reboot of the influential indie label that Gossard founded back in 1994 with Regan Hagar (who also played drums in Gossard's longtime band Brad as well as the seminal glam-punk band Malfunkshun). Throughout the '90s, Loosegroove issued records from acts such as Critters Buggin, Malfunkshun, Weapon of Choice and Devilhead, and significantly Gossard and Hagar signed Queens of the Stone Age and released the band's debut album in 1998. "It felt right that now was the time to start Loosegroove back up," says Hagar. "And once I heard the Painted Shield record, I knew that it had to be the first album we put out. It's a brilliant album - the performances, the sound, everything about it - and it speaks to our history of releasing music that's empowering while it also fits into our future-forward agenda."

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