You wouldn’t know it by the name, but there’s a good chance that you’ve been listening to the work of Gordon Raphael without knowing it. Before deciding to embark on a career of his own, Raphael spent the better part of the last decade working with artists like Regina Spektor and The Strokes. He was behind the helm of the insanely memorable albums Is This It? and Soviet Kitsch — arguably having served as one of the most prominent creative forces of the decade, it’s hard to believe that it’s taken as long as it has for a solo record to come to fruition.
That’s not to say that this is his first attempt at putting something out into the aether. He’s been in a handful of bands that never really scratched any kind of surface before trying his hand at production and cementing his status as a figurehead of rock music’s strangely British-obsessed teen years. His new album is called Sleep On The Radio and will be released on February 9th — and the record has so many of the qualities that he helped bring to the mainstream that it feels almost like a time capsule.
I’m excited to be sharing a new Gordon Raphael song called “Superstrong” with y’all today. A lot of the qualities that we came to love about the acts he’s worked with are present here — there’s a warmth to the slight fuzziness of the recording that helps it feel at home in the extensive catalog of his work up to this point. The touches of organ that are sprinkled throughout really drive the feelings of nostalgia home and help make the song one that you’re gonna want to listen to on a loop for hours.
You can stream “Superstrong” below.
Sleep On The Radio is out Feb 9th.
