July For Kings will drop their first new album in over four years, on June 23rd with the release of Monochrome.  The album also marks a return to releasing albums under the name July For Kings, after the band released their last album Curvature under lead singer Joe Hedges name.

“It’s been great to kind of resurrect the July For Kings name and reconnect with fans,” Hedges said in a recent interview with Alternative Addiction.  “It’s great to find out that a lot people are still interested and awaiting this album.”

The album has been over two years in the making, and something that the band has worked very hard at.

“It’s definitely been a labor of love.  I don’t know if people realize just how much work goes into making a record.  It’s been a really long haul, but it feels really good to be nearing the end here,” Hedges explained.

Unlike previous July For Kings albums, the band recorded this album almost entirely on their own, allowing the album to carry a nice combination of reworked versions of some of the band’s older songs as well as some new material.

“I started hammering out the songs in my own basement actually,” said Hedges.  “Some of them are sessions we’ve been working on for a couple of years.  It’s sort of a combination of old songs from the July For Kings catalog from the last 5 or even 10 years that we just never got around to recording properly, but most of it is newer songs that I have written and we recorded in the last few years here.”

Of the 11 tracks on the album, Hedges says that the band has reworked classic July For Kings songs “Six Hour Drive” and “Blue” in addition to the new tracks on the album, which Hedges says has a much more upbeat sound.

“It’s certainly the most pop record I have ever done,” Hedges said.  “It’s really accessible and a lot more fun than Curvature or even the other July For Kings records.  In general, I think it’s more positive and upbeat.”

Part of the reason for the upbeat sound is to create a stark contrast to Hedges’ last record Curvature, in a hope that they will translate better to the band’s live shows.

“Coming off of Curvature, my solo record which was really brooding and dark, it feels really heavy, even now when I listen to it, but this album certainly the songs are more fun.  These songs are going to translate a lot better to the stage and be a lot more fun to play out.”

The band will be playing these songs out throughout the Midwest this summer, starting with a CD release show on June 27th in Covington, KY.  The band has decided to do a unique promotion surrounding the album’s release, allowing fans to chose between 100 unique album covers for their pre-order copy of Monochrome.  The pre-ordered copies will be on sale at the band’s website at julyforkings.net with proceeds going to help the band fund the promotion of the new album. 

For more information on the pre-release visit www.julyforkings.net

Listen To Alternative Addiction’s Interview With July For Kings