It’s a time in our career to document life. When you put something out like this, people think, ‘So, is this the new direction of the band?’” DeLeo shrugs. “I probably had an album worth of material myself. Originally, the intention was to record an EP, but it quickly became evident there was too much to address. You’re not hiding behind something that’s sonically distorted or loud.” It requires a lot of attention and focus to really get a point across. It was also what was outside that affected what was inside.”Īn acoustic record has always been on the table, but “I don’t know if it was ever the right time. You’re sitting in this concrete room, and it really made me get in touch with my feelings. The Canadian tour included such varied venues as ice hockey rinks – settings that unwittingly drove the band further into a rejuvenated creative headspace. “That has some inspiration or effect on bringing out the feelings.” What also helps is the physical place to do that,” he says. “There’s been a lot of life over the last couple years. Perhaps, quite appropriately, the album took shape during last winter’s tour. Quite honestly, it’s that feeling of missing. It’s a lot of work, physical and emotional. Everyone thinks it’s very glamorous,” he says, “and it’s really not. “It’s like no other thing in life to deal with. Despite such a legendary pedigree, and millions of miles logged, DeLeo still finds it brutally tiresome. Setting the tone, the arrangement crescendoing and sticking to the clouds, “Fare Thee Well” encompasses the very nature of touring.
“Got my heart out in my hand / And don’t you know it / Something deep inside’s come over me,” extends Jeff Gutt, who stepped in as lead singer late 2017. I felt this word could resemble and say what loss is.” “I really respect and admire Latin music, whether it is Brazilian or Spanish. Each chapter, igniting with the richly Billy Joel-intoned opener “Fare Thee Well,” erupts “out of sadness and realization of what is happening in life,” bassist and songwriter Robert DeLeo tells American Songwriter over a recent call. Perdida, Spanish for “loss,” collapses under the weight of the unimaginable, but even within such misery, lightness blossoms in its place.ġ0 tracks, Perdida, out Friday (February 7), explores goodbyes in his many shades: from the lonesome open road to unexpected partings to death itself. Grieving the deaths of rock trailblazers Scott Weiland and Chester Bennington, Stone Temple Pilots pour blood, sweat, and tears into the work with their first-ever acoustic album. Tragedy births reflection, beauty, and art.