Prelude Press
Prelude Press – An independent music outlet focused on discovering and sharing the best emerging artists and diving deeper with the ones you already love.
Following a summer of ever-growing momentum, in addition to a slew of stunning new material that only added to palpable, anticipatory excitement for the full-length LP, beloved alt-pop duo joan—Alan Benjamin Thomas and Steven Rutherford— have released their brand-new album, this won’t last forever.
As Rutherford explains, this won’t last forever is an incredibly personal project, and one derived from a rollercoaster of emotions the band has experienced in recent times. “Last year, my wife and I were pregnant with our boy, and we were told that he had a kidney condition where he would have only one working kidney, which put him under the category of an “at risk” pregnancy,” Rutherford says. “We found this out at the same time joan was having some of the highlights of our career: we’d just finished our first album cycle, we just got home from touring so many parts of the world, and we just moved into our studio which we had dreamt about having for years. On top of that, Alan just had his second child, and we had more song ideas than we had ever had before. It was this incredibly tangible intersecting feeling of total hopefulness and hopelessness – like having a clear path ahead, but knowing that there is something just over the horizon blocking the way. I remember one day during that period just envisioning this dark cloud looming over me, following me wherever I went. Even on my best days, it felt like everything was overshadowed by this potential darkness in the distance. One day, I wrote a poem to try to process these feelings, and out of that poem came the phrase “this won’t last forever.” That phrase seemed to haunt me over the next year, reminding me to take advantage of the sunny days we were in and that the dark days always end. Nothing lasts forever – good times or bad – and that gave me light.”
“We wrote this album with that phrase as the framework: every lyric, every sound, every concept, even the tracklisting. This album is a year of pouring our heart into the songs amid long days at the studio. We put everything into this album, and I hope it gives you light if you’re feeling dark and helps you feel seen. Either way, this won’t last forever.”
The release of the album’s title track, “this won’t last forever,” comes with an equally striking music video – darkly humorous and prescient – as the duo idly watches the world crumble around them. Watch the video below. The track follows joan’s previous singles “space,” “lucid dreaming”, “body language” and “alibi,” which made major waves in the streaming world including placements on Spotify’s New Music Friday, Chill Pop, and All New Pop.
joan also released a series of singles earlier this year including “face,” “magic,” “eyes,” and “heartbodymindsoul,” building anticipation for their new album. With over 200 million global streams and more than one million monthly listeners, joan continues to evolve their sound, all while staying rooted in the emotional honesty and sonic nostalgia that fans have come to love.
It’s been a whirlwind year for joan: they’ve toured alongside acclaimed acts such as Bloc Party and MisterWives, and collaborated with other artists including K-pop group EPEX. Their extensive touring history also includes runs with COIN, The Aces, and Jeremy Zucker, as well as headline shows across Asia—playing 15,000+ capacity venues in the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, and Hong Kong. A new tour announcement is coming soon!
From their debut EP portra to their full-length album superglue and their global touring history, joan are carving out a unique lane in the alternative pop scene.