Louisiana-bred indie-rock outfit As Cities Burn have officially released their 2026 record, brain matter(s), to all DSPs. After initially making the offering exclusive to followers of the band’s Substack and on the streaming platform Lockstep.stream, it now sees its wide debut.
As Cities Burn have a complicated history. They’ve trekked across genres over the decades and have always stayed true to their creative instincts. And while the details of their journey could fill a book (see: Lunsford’s memoir Backstage), the most interesting thing about the band in 2026 is their ability to communicate shared, deeply held sentiments. It’s a gut feeling; a sixth sense; a gift to the longtime fans and to the new fans finally being understood by a record. It’s the stuff that makes brain matter(s) an offering of brilliance. It’s what makes As Cities Burn.
While it’s the band’s fifth full-length, brain matter(s) feels like a complete reimagination of what As Cities Burn can be in 2026. Cuts like “jester” are abundant in their morosity as founding vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Bonnette confesses, “Can’t even look myself in the f****n’ mirror/Lookie here/There’s a clown alright.” And when he poses the question, “The gates of hell/Are built with brain matter/Is it getting any better the more you think about it?” on the melancholic title track, it’s a moment both delicate and downright devastating.
From a bird’s-eye view, the album finds As Cities Burn at their most exploratory—at times tenacious and at other times remarkably serene. It’s also a fresh start for a band that’s weathered numerous lineup changes, break ups, and reunions, with Bonnette and drummer Aaron Lunsford settled at its contemporary core. Bonnette’s nuanced insights as a songwriter, paired with Lunsford’s knack for helping arrange Bonnette’s ideas before they even arrive at the producer’s chair, makes for a powerful pairing.
Add in engineering and production from the acclaimed Aaron Sprinkle (Anberlin, Story of the Year), alongside bass guitar from Emery’s Matt Carter, and you have an entirely new chapter of As Cities Burn that unlocks their limitless potential.
Lunsford shares more:
“I’m a bit terrified of what I might get myself sucked back into … Unfortunately, I moved to Louisiana in 2003 to play drums for a damn genius. And I can’t all the way quit.”
Alongside the release of brain matter(s), the album is available for physical pre-orders on multiple vinyl colorways and CD at the band’s official webstore.
brain matter(s) was recorded at Substation in Seattle, Washington, and mixed at Starmilk Studio on Vashon Island, Washington. Mastering for brain matter(s) was completed by Levi Seitz at Blackbelt Mastering in Seattle, Washington. The record’s art direction was designed by Sprinkle.
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