Devin Townsend has detailed a new solo album. The BC-bred polymath will share PowerNerd on October 25 via Century Media.
Following 2022's Lightwork, the 11-song PowerNerd features music Townsend wrote in as many days — an artistic decision he reveals was conscious.
He explains, "I thought, 'I've spent so much time overthinking every aspect of my work – what would happen if I didn't?' Maybe I would have the opportunity to be a bit more direct with what it is that I'm trying to do. I really wanted to see if I could cut through some of the meandering."
That said, the album's lyrics were written and refined over "a far longer period of time," forming a narrative about strength and healing. The album's title track, which you can hear alongside an expectedly humorous video below, features Hatebreed vocalist Jamey Jasta.
"I would say that a powernerd would be somebody that has a tendency that society has deemed weak or not valuable, whether that's empathy or being an insular person or an introvert, and turns that into a type of personal power," Townsend shares of the LP's title. "It's like, 'OK, yeah, I'm sensitive to this, that and the other thing, but man, I am going to pull through! I am going to do things with that sensitivity that are rooted in strength.'"
PowerNerd is also the first in a trilogy of albums from Townsend. An effort titled The Moth, previously teased by the artist, will be the trilogy's "orchestral, over-the-top, dark and uncomfortable" second piece, while a finale titled Axolotl will come loaded with "alien weirdness."
PowerNerd:
1. PowerNerd
2. Falling Apart
3. Knuckledragger
4. Gratitude
5. Dreams of Light
6. Ubelia
7. Jainism
8. Younger Lover
9. Glacier
10.Goodbye
11. Ruby Quaker
