CANDLEBOX
Love Stories & Other Musings, the fifth studio album from Candlebox (released April 3 on AudioNest/Fontana/Universal), evidences a newfound level of maturity for the band, formed in 1991 in Seattle. At the same time, listening to it with the volume knob cranked up emphatically reveals that frontman Kevin Martin, lead guitarist Peter Klett, drummer Scott Mercado, and their bandmates, remain filled with the youthful exuberance that marked their first go-round in the 1990s, a decade during which they ran off a string of alt-rock classics while selling north of 5 million albums. 

“At a time when it’s more difficult than ever for bands to find their niche, it’s nice to have more than 20 years of history as a band to draw on,” says Martin. “We don’t have to find our footing—it’s been there the whole time. We’re rebuilding the style and structure of the band, not to reinvent ourselves but, thanks to our growth and the accessibility of the music we’ve been making during the last couple of years, to allow ourselves to reach a new audience.”

“I haven’t felt this strongly about a Candlebox record since our first one,” adds Klett. 

Produced by Ken Andrews (Pete Yorn, A Perfect Circle, Tenacious D, Beck), Love Stories & Other Musings features nine new songs, along with crisp re-recordings of five of the band’s best-loved ’90s hits, including the classics “Far Behind,” “Cover Me,” “You” and “Change,” comprising a bountiful bonus for their legion of diehard fans. 

After splitting up at the tail end of the ’90s, Martin and Klett were reunited with original drummer Scott Mercado via the 2006 Rhino/Warner Bros. retrospective The Best of Candlebox. Despite being absent from the scene for nearly seven years, the band was readily embraced by their fans and invited to play radio shows across the country. Subsequently, these longtime compatriots—augmented by two new fulltime members, bassist Adam Kury and guitarist Sean Hennesy—discovered that the time apart and collective personal growth had resulted in enhanced chemistry among them. Since recording 2008’s Into the Sun, they’ve spent much of their time on the road both in the States and abroad, playing for the troops and appearing at festivals. Candlebox will hit the road this spring in support of the new album.