Interview by Paul Salfen
Multi-platinum selling Seattle rock band Candlebox – whose power anthems “Far Behind,” “You,” and “Cover Me” off their 1993 debut, self-titled album exploded onto the charts – has released their final studio album, The Long Goodbye, via Round Hill Records. The new 10-track collection, Candlebox’s eighth studio album, finds the group taking stock of evolving maturity, fleeting time, and lasting love, all while kicking a lot of ass, as evidenced by the previously released singles “Punks” and “What Do You Need” featuring Mona. The Long Goodbye is available now digitally and on CD, with vinyl shipping in November.
“I hope the whole world gets a chance to hear this record and loves it as much as we do; it’s a pretty special record,” shares front man, songwriter and founding member Kevin Martin.
Celebrating 30 years of success, Candlebox is capping off their long and influential career with The Long Goodbye. The band first introduced the album, produced by Don Miggs, with the hard-hitting lead single “Punks,” a cautionary message to young bands that they won’t be the hot new thing forever. Charging forward with a slashing guitar riff and rapid-fire drums, Kevin Martin howls about quick-burning success and vacuous trends. PRESS HERE to watch “Punks” live from The Troubadour. Recent single “What Do You Need,” co-written by Nick Brown of the alt-rock band Mona who also appears on the song, is a sneering statement of independence, while the moody, atmospheric “Elegante” finds Kevin diving headlong into creative wordplay as Miggs and the band mimic a synth-pop vibe with guitars and drums. Elsewhere on The Long Goodbye is the acoustic “Maze” and “Cellphone Jesus,” where Kevin allows some of his worldview to seep in as he searches for a sign from above for a damaged society. Full track listing for The Long Goodbye below.
Candlebox – Kevin Martin (lead vocals), Adam Kury (bass), Brian Quinn (guitar), Island Styles (guitar), BJ Kerwin (drums) – is nearing the end of their farewell tour. The Long Goodbye Tour, which launched in early June and continues to stretch across the country until early fall, has Candlebox receiving rave reviews both for their headlining shows and support dates with 3 Doors Down. See below for full list of upcoming tour dates. Visit https://www.candleboxrocks.com/tour for all details and to purchase tickets.
Emerging from Seattle’s burgeoning mid-90s grunge scene, Candlebox quickly found mainstream success with their deep, lyrically-driven melodies and big radio hooks, as evidenced by their massive hits “Far Behind,” “You,” and “Cover Me” that propelled their self-titled debut album, a defining record of the decade, to sell more than 4 million copies worldwide. Their follow-up album, Lucy, earned a platinum certification and solidified Candlebox as a tour de force in the thriving alt-rock scene. While the commercial success of the first album played a pivotal role in the band’s trajectory to the top, it was their raw and unapologetically honest live performances that ultimately solidified their place among Seattle’s elite. In 1998, Candlebox released Happy Pills, which would be their last album before going on hiatus from 2000 to 2006. In 2008, the band reformed and released their fourth album, Into The Sun, and hit the road for the first time in 10 years, touring extensively and releasing Alive In Seattle, a live album that included tracks from every era of their career. 2016 marked the triumphant return of Candlebox with the release of Disappearing In Airports, a more classic rock-tinged album hailed by many critics and fans as their best work in years. Singles “Vexatious” and “Supernova” drove the album to debut at #9 on the Billboard Charts and spurred multiple U.S. and international tours including major festival appearances at Carolina Rebellion, Welcome To Rockville, and Lollapalooza Chile. While these iconic rockers have been blazing full-steam since, releasing their album, Wolves, in 2021, and recently issuing a live, acoustic album, Live at The Neptune, Kevin and Candlebox are calling it quits in 2023, but they’re not going quietly.
In addition to the release of The Long Goodbye, Rhino will spotlight Candlebox’s early years with a 7-LP vinyl boxed set, The Maverick Years, due out September 22nd, featuring newly remastered versions of all three studio albums released on Maverick (Candlebox, Lucy, and Happy Pills) as double LPs, plus a single album with more than a dozen previously unreleased recordings only available in the collection.
Ultimately, The Long Goodbye is a statement record, a document of a band that somehow survived an era that tragically proved too seductive for some of their peers to remain not only successful, but relevant. And after Candlebox wraps it all up at the end of the year, the hits will still live on, along with a legacy that serves to inspire the young punks who come after them.
THE LONG GOODBYE TRACK LISTING
1. Punks
2. What Do You Need ft. Mona
3. Elegante
4. I Should Be Happy
5. Nails On A Chalkboard
6. Ugly
7. Maze
8. Cellphone Jesus
9. Foxy
10. Hourglass
