GRETA VAN FLEET‘s “My Way, Soon” has topped Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. It is the Michigan rockers’ fifth No. 1, following “Highway Tune” (September 2017), “Safari Song” (February 2018), “When The Curtain Falls” (November 2018) and “You’re The One” (March 2019).
“My Way, Soon” is taken from GRETA VAN FLEET‘s second album, “The Battle At Garden’s Gate”, which will be made available on April 16 via Lava/Republic Records.
A bold evolution from the band’s 2018 full-length debut “Anthem Of The Peaceful Army”, “The Battle At Garden’s Gate” came together primarily on the road or while in the studio after the runaway success of 2017’s “Highway Tune” led to the band packing up, leaving home, and eagerly soaking up new experiences on an extended road trip around the world.
Over the past three years, GRETA VAN FLEET — vocalist Josh Kiszka, guitarist Jake Kiszka, bassist Sam Kiszka, and drummer Danny Wagner — played to hundreds of thousands of people across North America, Europe, Japan, Australia, South America and New Zealand. While driving to gigs, the first-time world travelers passed many unfamiliar sights, from the favelas in Sao Paulo to the Gold Coast of Australia and everywhere in between, meeting and enjoying conversations with fans and other musicians that opened up new worlds to them. To cap off the change-filled era, the quartet moved from Michigan to Nashville, immersing themselves in Music City’s rich history. The melding of all these experiences opened their eyes to amazing new worlds of culture, history, philosophy and spirituality — and ushered in an entirely new way of looking at life and the approach to their music.
“The Battle At Garden’s Gate” was recorded in Los Angeles with Greg Kurstin (FOO FIGHTERS, PAUL MCCARTNEY) and is described in a press release as “ambitious and expansive,” marked by epic journeys such as the second single, “Age Of Machine”, and “My Way, Soon”, which boasts a towering chorus hook and rip-it-up-and-start-again lyrics.
Josh explains: “It’s very dynamic, lyrically speaking. And that’s the human experience. It’s much more than pain or fear; it’s also beauty. People need people, and love is important.” Lyrically, “The Battle At Garden’s Gate” muses about the influence of technology on modern life; the role conflict plays in the global sphere; the deceptive fulfillment of tangible riches; and philosophical questions about life, love and power.
“There was a lot of self-evolution happening during the writing of this album that was prompted by experiences I had, experiences we all had, so a lot of contemplation occurred,” Josh says, while Jake adds, “It’s reflecting a lot of the world that we’ve seen, and I think that it’s reflecting a lot of personal truth. What Josh does very well with the lyrics is telling ancient tales with a contemporary application.”
Photo credit: Alyssa Gafkjen
