NYC cult faves The Van Pelt have announced their first new studio LP in 25 years 'Artisans and Merchants' will be released on 17th March 2023.
It has been a quarter of a century but fans will be relieved to know we only have a couple of months to wait for the new The Van Pelt album to become available.
The influential band stands among a select few of the most revered second-wave emo bands of all time including their peers in The Promise Ring, Mineral and Christie Front Drive.
‘Artisans and Merchants’ was recorded and mixed in the Summer/Autumn of 2021 by Jeff Zeigler (The War on Drugs, Kurt Vile) at Uniform Recording Studios in Philadelphia and features guest appearances by Nate Kinsella and Ted Leo amongst others.
The first single from the album- ‘Punk House’– is out now with a brand new video.
Frontman Chris Leo says, “When a bunch of old VHS tapes were unearthed, the band had them digitized and they turned out to be from US tours of the mid-90s.
The footage is mainly of daily banalities: random purchases at rest stops, packing and unpacking the van, highway views that could be on the outskirts of Any Town USA. Yet there is a nostalgia to it that’s compelling.
The song mirrors the mood in both sound and text. Lines like “The floor is filled with resin on the place where you’re to sleep / if you have enough to drink you can pretend that it’s a sheet” bring any musician back to the rougher side of days on the road — yet again, the subtext here is that the spirit of it all is to be longed for.”
The Van Pelt has announced a series of UK, EU and Brooklyn shows in March and April.
Rediscover the Van Pelt back catalogue before the new album HERE.
Follow The Van Pelt on Their Socials
Need more Punk In Your Life?
Dutch punks Antillectual release a pre-election song against extreme right politicians
So far, all Antillectual songs have been in English. But now, their first-ever song in Dutch is out. Its title is ‘Voorrang Voor Rechts’, which
Live Review: The Stranglers ‘51’ Tour, Leeds o2 Academy, 17th Oct 2025
Now into their 51st touring year, The Stranglers have survived many of the very worst things that can happen to a band. Their immense and
Interview: Alex catches up with Andy Mansell of Barriers and RAD
Just when we started thinking we were a productive bunch at Punktuation, we encountered Andy Mansell, who fronts not one, but two excellent bands –
Live review: Disorder at Reading Facebar – 11th Oct 2025
Disorder, Healthy Junkies, and local punks Tape It Shut and Skinhawk brought the generations together at Reading Facebar. Disorder are still angry and all the
Book review: ‘Early Days, a conversation about art, punk & otherness’ by Penelope Houston with Maria Elena Buszek
‘Early Days, a conversation about art, punk & otherness’ by Penelope Houston of The Avengers with Maria Elena Buszek was recently published in the USA
Rats With Wings Records 5th Anniversary, The Prince Albert, Brighton 05.10.25
The Stereotypes (UK), Family Of Strangers, Noir Mates and Thee Derelique put on a punk party at Brighton’s Prince Albert to celebrate Rats With Wings
I’m Molly Tie- I Love punk! I play drums (badly), write a lot about punk (not as badly) and I’m particularly interested in issues relating to women in the music scene.
Did you know that we are 100% DIY? We run our own game. No one dictates to us, and no one drives what we can or cannot put on our pages – and this is how we plan to continue!
