With early support from radio and placement on MTV’s “The Hills,” The Afters’ third studio titled Light Up the Sky will release on Sept. 14 with INO Records.
Produced by Dan Muckala (MercyMe, Brandon Heath, Amy Grant), The Afters’ 10 track CD has a comprehensive theme of rebirth and a fresh start streaming throughout the lyrics of the record. The topic of new beginnings was something very natural for The Afters whom after going through a season of loss with the passing of their former manager, and even the loss of drummer Jordan Mohilowski’s best friend, started a new chapter with the added additions of a new bassist and drummer to their line-up.
“I think the direction of this album reflects where we are in life,” explains The Afters’ guitarist Matt Fuqua. “I celebrated my 10th wedding anniversary this year and so did Josh. As we get older I think we are seeing that what is truly important to us is God, family and our relationships. I think that is reflected in this album because that is where we are spiritually speaking.”
Sonically, the band’s pop sound continues to evolve and grow with Light Up the Sky. “We spent a lot of time working on building the soundscapes for this record. We experimented with mic placements…even placing mics throughout long hallways outside the studio rooms and in our producer’s garage to capture ambient sounds,” addresses lead singer Josh Havens. “There are a lot of textures and subtleties that the listener might not notice until they’ve listened a few times. I think both musically and lyrically it is instantly accessible and yet has deeper layers for those wanting to find them. It’s artful pop.” Light Up the Sky finds Havens and Fuqua writing alongside Muckala as well as Jason Ingram, Brandon Heath and Nate Campany (Brandon Heath, The Click Five).
The first single from the album “Light Up the Sky,” which is already No. 2 at Billboard Christian CHR and top 10 at AC, is a reminder of the steadiness of God’s faithfulness. The Afters have trekked across the US this summer in support of the single, making stops at KCMS (Seattle), Joy FM (St. Louis), K-LOVE/Air 1 and more. The song was also used in the final season of MTV’s hit show “The Hills” earlier this summer. Other songs of interest on the record include the sonically aggressive ” We Won’t Give Up,” the praise-filled “Lift Me Up,” encouraging “Runaway” and “Start Over,” which continues with the overriding theme of rebirth.
