War Strings Share 'Heaven in Your Hands'

Andrew Stogel's Of Aether feels like an exhale; the clouds clearing. In stark contrast to the gloom and brooding of his early 2023 album Prelude to Nothing under his songwriting moniker War Strings, Stogel has found himself in a brighter headspace, feeling joyous.

Where his last endeavor was a lo-fi, dark, and brooding album, drawing inspiration from Duster and Sparklehorse, he soon after found himself working on something new, a record that is cleaner, clearer and more optimistic. On Of Aether, Stogel has parted with his mental fog and emerges, deliberate in the detail of his arrangements, songwriting and intention.

Full of warm electronics, pristine guitars and focused vocals, Stogel's third album feels like a new beginning for War Strings project. At their core, the songs on Of Aether is a letter of admission; Stogel’s coming to terms with his aspirations. "It was a quick download,” he explains. “Fell in love, ‘nuff said.”

Pulling at colorful threads that bands like Primal Scream and Spiritualized introduced, he wraps swooning, delay drenched guitars, present 808 loops, and towering vocals to entertain the album’s sentiment. On “Chump,” one of the album’s most outwardly psychedelic tracks, Stogel’s unflinching vocal and sparsely arranged instrumentation draws in, then pushes back with rough walls of sound. On other standouts, “Set Free” and “Crystallize,” he strips tracks to their barest parts, letting his haunted voice lead the way.

Of Aether was conceived in January 2022 and recorded over a few weeks in February and March 2023. After Prelude to Nothing’s lo-fi, ramshackle sound, Stogel readjusts to make an album that is less rough around the edges; reflective of a newfound clarity. He recorded the entire album himself, leaning on an 808 and jazzmaster.  

Of Aether is a warmer, radiant follow-up / reinvention of War Strings; a project that constantly sharpens and refines itself. Andrew Stogel’s evolution is result of a restlessness and willingness to work—personally and musically. “This album came about while I was starting to feel that heaven may be on earth."