Rich Aucoin Returns with New Album 'United States'

Hear anti-gun anthem "Reset" now

BY Calum SlingerlandPublished May 21, 2020

Having shared protest song "How It Breaks" last month, Rich Aucoin has now revealed his latest to be part of a brand new full-length album. 

Aucoin will release fourth studio album United States on September 18 through Haven Sounds.

Twelve tracks in length, United States was written by Aucoin during a cycling trip through the U.S. for for Mental Health America and the Canadian Mental Health Association, with one track representing each of the 12 states he pedalled through.

"I wanted to really see the states alone as an observer with lots of time to process the experience. I've loved touring there and was interested in how such a progressive country could elect their current president," Aucoin said of the trip in a statement.

He continued: "After cycling through town after town with decaying downtowns where photos were displayed in the local cafes showing the town in full bloom after the second world war, I could see how his propaganda of 'Make America Great Again' really conned people. I spent a lot of time on social media and alone over those months and could see how the states had re-entered a period that felt like the late '60s again with both a resurgence in student protest movements and a renewed interest in psychedelics. I was also meditating a lot and thinking about these things while riding."

New song "Reset" arrives today and finds Aucoin taking aim at America's gun laws. For an accompanying video that you can find below, the songwriter cut together over 100 American news reports on mass shootings in the country.

As he recalled, "I started the ride across America just after the events of the Parkland shootings so it was very much in the news and I wanted to write something immediately that spoke to their frustration with the gun laws in their country.

"We should have a bigger reaction to seeing weapons of death being allowed to be touted around in the name of freedom. Working on this was especially difficult in the weeks post the deadliest mass shooting in Canadian history while myself and the rest of the community all reflected on what was happening all around us."

United States follows Aucoin's 2019 album Release.



United States:

1. Kayfabe - CA
2. How it Breaks - AZ
3. Red Rocks - NM
4. Dopamine - TX
5. Reset - OK
6. This is it. - AR
7. Civil - TN
8. Trip - VA
9. Walls - DC
10. Blue Highways - PA
11. Eulogy of Regret - NJ
12. American Dream - NY

Pre-order United States.

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