Official press release:
Emo/alternative band Commoner announces the release of their forthcoming debut album, Former Self, set to arrive on 13th November 2026 via Pure Noise Records. Pre-orders are available here.
The announcement arrives alongside the release of two new singles, “Cemetery Dogs”– with its tumultuous rhythms and emotional vulnerability and the unsettling yet soothing jitters of “Sirens A Block Away”, offering the first glimpse into the sound and direction of the upcoming album. The band says:
“‘Cemetery Dogs’ had to be the focus single for the record, as themes of losing the connection to an individual’s character you used to know are so apparent. It’s a crushing thing to witness someone struggle so far beyond your ability to aid – and this track embodies that. This track sets the tone for Former Self, and the themes to follow.”
Album Former Self is produced by long-time collaborator Zach Tuch and is an album that’s very much about looking back at the past, it’s as equally concerned with moving forward. After all, your former self could be a version of you from a decade ago—or from yesterday—and even in the six months since the previous track “Breach” came out, the band’s style has evolved. “Breach”, the band say, was a stop-gap, an introduction, a bridge between the past and the present. Former Self, somewhat ironically given its title, is a full-hearted representation of who Commoner are now. Bryant says:
“The album has a lot of themes of childhood and your own former self but it also discusses how people around you have changed—and missing somebody else’s former self. We have songs that look back on how you yourself used to be back in the day, but we have songs about how everyone else has changed too.”
It all makes for a moving document about human nature, about the inevitability of growing older, of the self-awareness that who you are isn’t who you were, even if it feels that way. It’s a joint commiseration, celebration and commemoration, all wrapped up in one, but delivered with the exuberance and promise of youth. Vocalist Romin Mattison said of the ablum:
“Former Self is a window of reflection for each of our lives. For what it’s been and how we’ve learned to move forward. People change, situations change, life is full of it. As a band, we have always gravitated towards the works of bands who touch on moments of time as they are your own. Instances in which the experience has felt shared, rather than being preached. Our debut full length was a meditative piece for all of the members, and has allowed us to close a chapter in our writing that we had all felt needed conclusion.”
Former Self track listing:
- “Cobalt Blue” feat. Split Chain
- “Passerby”
- “In Reserve”
- “Cemetery Dogs”
- “Sparks”
- “Sirens A Block Away”
- “Runner Up”
- “Former Self”
- “As Cold As It Gets”
- “Appendix”
