New Jersey-based rock band Forgivers are proud to announce the release of its new single, “Flowerseeds,” on YouTube, Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music and all other major digital platforms. Mixing mainly British influences such as The Cure, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Clash and Oasis but infusing it with their own unique and distinctive dynamic, Forgivers have created a body of work that embraces a dark, muscular and shimmering psychedelic swagger, recalling some of the finest alt-rock of the 120 Minutes-era.
“We’re releasing our third song, ‘Flowerseeds’, today because it’s most certainly a song for summer, the kind we heard wafting through the air in the distance when we were kids,” frontman JedWinokur said. “This one is open-hearted and uplifting, but with a twinge of sadness. Mind you this was written last summer, the summer of lockdowns during the pandemic, when we were daydreaming about 2021—when we hoped we’d feel freer to dive into summer, with all the deep nostalgia that summertime brings.”
Additionally, Forgivers have announced its upcoming December headline tour. Hitting the U.S. east coast from December 10-19, the band will visit markets such as Philadelphia, PA, Hamden, CT, Buffalo, NY, Brooklyn, NY, Washington, DC and Asbury Park, NJ. “After working on these songs for over a year-and-a-half in the Forgivers’ Lodge we are more-than-excited to finally be able to perform them in a live capacity,” said guitarist/vocalist AlexRosamilia. A full listing of dates can be found below and tickets for the upcoming run are on sale now.
There’s been an undeniable synchronicity to Forgivers from the beginning. If you believed in fate, you might even say it was meant to be. It all came about when Alex Rosamilia started talking to bassist Alex Levine about writing music together again, after the decade-plus they’d spent together in The Gaslight Anthem. When that band briefly broke its hiatus to celebrate the 10th anniversary of The ’59 Sound, the two Alexes realized how much they’d missed playing together, something Rosamilia told Ed Auletta, longtime guitar tech for My Chemical Romance and the owner of North End Recording, where Rosamilia had recorded his Dead Swords project a few years ago.
The two were catching up at a bar in Jersey City – back when you could still catch up at bars – when Ed suggested that Jed Winokur, who had fronted New Jersey punk band The Ratchets, would be an ideal frontman. Neither had seen him for a while, but minutes after his name was mentioned, Winokur happened to walk past the pair in the street, which they all took as a fortuitous sign. Once told about the Alexes’ new project, Winokur was in. Rounding out the four-piece is drummer and recording engineer Trevor Reddell, who played in Let Me Run, D’Arcy and Dead Swords. It’s in Reddell’s garage – dubbed ‘Forgivers Lodge’ – that the four-piece eventually started a socially distant rehearsal once a week, carefully shaping the sound and aesthetic of the band.
Since recording “Some Future,” a track recently praised by top tier media outlets, Forgivers have been building up a catalogue of songs that are as timeless as they are thrilling, and which all four members are visibly, infectiously excited about. They’re buoyed not only by the fact they’re writing music together that feels so right, but also by the hope that the chemistry they have together can fill a void in the world of rock music – namely intelligent, emotive rock ’n’ roll that’s inspired by the pain, pleasure and the paradoxes of life. “We want this to be a little more thoughtful than what’s out there – sensible yet senseless,” says Winokur. “We’re just going to put things together that create tension, and see what comes of it. And if they come out sounding classic and happy and sad at the same time, then that’s kind of the goal.”
“I’m trying to get back to what I could have been doing this entire time but was too blind to see it,” says Rosamilia. “Music is fun again. I feel like I’m getting to do this all over again with the knowledge that I have, and I want to make sure that I do it right.”
“And the four of us have done this so many times with other people,” adds Levine, “that we know when it feels right and when it really feels right. And this really, really feels right.”
Forgivers will be touring the East Coast of the U.S. this December. Dates below:
DECEMBER
10 – Philadelphia, PA – Kung Fu Necktie
11 – Hamden, CT – Space Ballroom
12 – Buffalo, NY – Rec Room
17 – Brooklyn, NY – Knitting Factory
18 – Washington, DC – Songbyrd
19 – Asbury Park, NJ – House of Independents
Forgivers are:
Jed Winokur: Lead vocals/Guitar (The Ratchets)
Alex Rosamilia: Guitar/Vocals (The Gaslight Anthem, Dead Swords)
Alex Levine: Bass/Vocals (The Gaslight Anthem)
Trevor Reddell: Drums/Vocals (Let Me Run, D’Arcy, Dead Swords)