Interview: The Van Pelt Releasing New Album After 25 Years

Written by Gordon Beck

New York City cult indie darlings The Van Pelt released a handful of albums through the 90s that stood shoulder to shoulder with some of the most revered second-wave emo and indie bands of all time, including their peers in The Promise Ring, Mineral, Christie Front Drive, Boys Life, Braid, Karate, and Rainer Maria. They disbanded in 1997 but are back now in 2023 with the release of three singles, “Punk House,” "Image Of Health," and "Grid," all off their upcoming fourth studio full-length, titled 'Artisans & Merchants,' which will be released March 17 by Spartan Records in North America, La Castanya in Europe, and Gringo in the UK.

The band's first album in over 25 years was recorded and mixed in the summer and fall of 2021 by Jeff Zeigler at Uniform Recording in Philadelphia, PA, and features multiple guest appearances including Nate Kinsella, Ted Leo, and a few other surprises.

In an interview with frontman and lyricist Chris Leo, I shed light on their time between records, their creative influences, and how the landscape of their music has changed over the years.

GORDON: The last time The Van Pelt was officially a band was in 1997. What have you been up to for the past couple decades?

CHRIS: Man, well for the most part none of us stopped making music, but we just did so with/as other bands. I did finally have a break-up with making music in the late Aughts. Music is a particularly reciprocal art for me, and the music I was making wasn't of interest to anyone. I had been dropped by every label I had ever been on and couldn't find a real "band" to save my life so I hung it up, sold all of my guitars except one, and focused on things that were in fact working for me. It wasn't until the release of our previously unreleased third album "Imaginary Third" in 2014 when The Van Pelt starting playing sporadic shows again that I realized I did in fact have a real band, and I began to fall back in love with making music again.

GORDON: You guys have played together a few times since disbanding and dropped some unreleased tracks, but this is the first time you’ve announced working on anything new. What prompted the reunion?

CHRIS: It was practicing for the shows surrounding the release of Imaginary Third. It was those practices where we were in fact having difficulty holding ourselves back from writing new material. Eventually we decided to let loose and see what happens, and now it's impossible to turn the faucet off. 

GORDON: How has your musicianship changed over the years, and what does that bring to the table in creating new songs together?

CHRIS: Well that's the thing with a real band. When a real band plays together it sounds like that band no matter where you've been for the past 25 years. So we're older and wiser obviously, but when we play together there is a very Van Pelt stamp that cuts through. It's one of those sums is greater than the parts things.

GORDON: Was it easy to fall back into rhythm with each other? Was there an adjustment period or growing pains?

CHRIS: Remarkably no. It was the opposite. Not falling back into a rhythm would have taken more effort. The biggest difference now is the way songs begin. They used to mainly begin with a riff, but now they can come from almost any angle, the more thought provoking of a start the better.

GORDON: The role of emo and rock music at large is very different today than it was in the 90s. How has the scene changed in your eyes, and what is it like navigating this new landscape?

CHRIS: We were always border crossers who didn't let what people label us affect us too much. In NYC and LA we were Indie Rock, in the rest of America we were Emo or Punk or Post-Hardcore. In Europe we were American Alternative Music and Slowcore and Art Rock. So in a sense we've never let the landscape get to us too much. Luckily growing up in the 90s regardless of what scene you were in, a large part of the audience were cynics who stood with arms crossed firmly for the bulk of the show, so we're used to adversity. It seems that kids are 1000x friendlier today! And not just kids, but even show promoters, soundmen, lighting people, etc. It's almost off-putting, like someone is taking the piss out of us by being so nice while all along really waiting around some dark corner to put us in our place. Luckily we've always been optimistic fools who would rather risk falling for the ruse than be on guard at all times - so we’re having a lot of fun!

GORDON: Your new singles very much still share in this, but on “Image of Health” I hear a bit of what sounds like new-age influence. Are there any fresh influences or sounds you were eager to explore on this album?

CHRIS: New Age eh? Amazing. If you are speaking lyrically, well I’m certainly a pragmatist that allows magical thinking to invade my groundedness, so I can see that. Over 25 years, sure, there are too many new influences to get into, but it’s also been fun revisiting our initial influences and seeing what they mean to us today. Fun revisiting old Van Pelt songs for that matter too! They take on different forms over the years, and they age differently from one another too. For example, the rockers on our first album “Stealing From Our Favorite Thieves” didn't speak much to me in the Aughts, but now they are hitting all the right points for some reason - listen to them now because maybe they’ll be irrelevant again in the 2030s!

GORDON: You’ve said your lyricism has shifted from tackling heady topics to something more direct and vulnerable. Can you talk about what inspired you for this album on a lyrical front?

CHRIS: I like my art to be discomforting. Ideally, I’d like my long conversations to lead to a place of discomfort as well. It’s there that I feel like we’re getting to things. The issue with my lyrics when I was young versus my lyrics now is a question of percentage and attack, but I still prize discomfort. When I was younger I liked to come straight out of the gates as an instigator. I realized I would lose a lot of people along the way with this approach, but I felt like those who remained would be gold and it would streamline our ability to get into things. Now that I’m older I have much more patience, understanding, and respect for everyone’s different processes. So now I’d rather begin the dialogue on mutually firm footing, a place of warmth and interconnectedness, before venturing out into dangerous dialogue. This has been the biggest shift not only in my lyrics, but also in my way of socializing in general.

GORDON: The lyrics of “Punk House” depict a disappointing night of gigging, something all too familiar for many musicians. What advice would you give to young artists trying to stick it out with their bands?

CHRIS: I think it’s important to check in with yourselves - even if it isn’t only disaster shows you’re playing. Is this the kind of life you want to live? What is it specifically you like about it? Is this helping you get closer or further to things you hold dear? Is this the right venue for your music? Is your live show important? Is this the kind of music you want to be making ? I think it’s important to rout out inertia in your arts and swap it out for constant revolution. If you’re just doing this due to inertia, then there are a million other easier ways to face life.

Upcoming Shows: 

3/16 - Leeds, UK @ Warf Chambers

3/17 - Nottingham, UK @ The Old Cold Store

3/18 - London, UK @ The Garage

3/19 - Antwerp, BEL @ Trix

4/23 - Brooklyn, NY @ St. Vitus