15 March 2026

ABRONIA – Shapes Unravel (2026, LP/CD, Cardinal Fuzz [Europe], Feeding Tube Records [USA])

RELEASE INFO:

Label: Cardinal Fuzz (Europe), Feeding Tube Records (USA)

Format: LP, Album, Limited Edition, Black Vinyl in Black Poly Lined Inners – Reverse Board Outer Sleeve (Includes two-sided insert with lyrics, credits, and photo)

Release Date: 20 Feb 2026

Out of the misty outskirts of Portland, Oregon emerges Abronia, a band that, over the past decade, has quietly carved its own sonic territory somewhere between desert ritual and widescreen psychedelia. Their fourth album, “Shapes Unravel”, arrives not as a simple continuation but as a deepening of the band’s already distinctive language.

With an unusual six-piece configuration – two guitars, pedal steel, tenor sax, bass and a thunderous “big drum” – Abronia weave a dense and cinematic tapestry where Eastern drones, acid-folk echoes, avant-jazz textures and shadowy post-punk atmospheres collide. Feels like a slow-burning journey through grief, memory and transcendence, pulling the listener into its strange gravitational field from the very first pulse.

The six members/musicians of Abronia are; Keelin Mayer (Vocals, Tenor Saxophone, Flute), Rick Pedrosa (Pedal Steel, Percussion), Robert Grubaugh (Big Drum, Percussion, Melodica), Danny Metcalfe (Bass), James Shaver (Guitar), and Eric Crespo (Guitar, Backing Vocals).

“Shapes Unravel” contains 7 tracks, 4 on the first side of the LP album and the rest 3 on the second side. The album opens with echoing guitar plucks and a ghostly pedal steel, slowly sketching the strange landscape that defines Abronia. Very quickly “New Imposition” unfolds like a cinematic score before the rest of the band enters, transforming the track into a full-blown psych vehicle. Whether it’s rolling down a desert road, floating over the sea, or drifting somewhere in the air is impossible to tell. What is certain is that it’s astonishing modern psychedelia and a perfect warning of the adventurous mind-trip that lies ahead on “Shapes Unravel”… “Mirrored Ends Of Light” starts and a hazy, mind-bending introduction sets the tone, while Keelin Mayer’s ethereal vocals feel like a vessel guiding the listener across some invisible threshold. Gradually the piece ignites and launches like a psych rocket into the infinite space of modern psychedelia. The marching pulse and expanding arrangement turn it into a spaced-out anthem, culminating in a majestic, almost funereal finale that feels both monumental and haunting… Built on a hypnotic rhythmic figure, “Weapons Against Progress” slowly descends into deeper psychedelic territory. The band’s musicianship shines here, each instrument weaving into the collective trance. The sound grows heavier as it evolves—yet never abandons its psychedelic essence—proving that weight and atmosphere can coexist without drifting into cliché. “Walker’s Dead Birds” is the longest track on the first side, and begins with a slow, twang-soaked and slightly ominous soundscape, unfolding like a dark psychedelic ballad. Desert-noir shadows blend with Eastern-tinged drones and widescreen atmospheres. Midway through, the piece mutates dramatically, morphing into a bizarre cosmic missile that seems to have lost its coordinates somewhere in the psychedelic stratosphere—chaotic, unpredictable and absolutely superb!

Side B opens with a swirling dose of modern psychedelia called “Gemini”. The music bends and twists the senses until the listener feels trapped inside a hallucination where colors scatter, and unfamiliar shapes begin to unravel before the mind’s eye. It’s a track that perfectly mirrors the album’s title, dissolving structure into pure sensory illusion! Dark, ghostly and deeply lysergic, “Petals And Sand” feels drenched in the lingering spirit of past-age psychedelia. The band builds a tense and torturous atmosphere, constantly hinting at a cathartic climax that seems just within reach. Yet that release never truly arrives, leaving the listener suspended in a strangely beautiful state of unresolved tension… Echoing, ritualistic and slow-burning, the closing track “Asleep In The Porcelain House”, places Keelin Mayer’s voice front and center, delivering one of the album’s most captivating vocal performances. The atmosphere gradually thickens until the final two minutes erupt into a mind-blowing psychedelic surge – like a final cosmic bullet fired into the night sky. An enchanting ending to a truly immersive record!

In the end, “Shapes Unravel” feels like a continuous, hallucinatory journey. Abronia once again prove that modern psychedelia can still sound mysterious, dangerous and emotionally alive. Blending ritualistic atmosphere, cinematic scope and fearless experimentation, the Portland six-piece deliver a record that doesn’t simply revisit the ghosts of the past – it reshapes them into something vivid and contemporary. For those willing to surrender to its gravitational pull, “Shapes Unravel” reveals itself as a deeply immersive psychedelic experience. One of the Best Records of 2026! Dig! TimeLord Michalis

Tracklist

A1	New Imposition	4:26
A2	Mirrored Ends Of Light	5:16
A3	Weapons Against Progress	4:08
A4	Walker’s Dead Birds	6:35
B1	Gemini	5:17
B2	Petals And Sand	4:34
B3	Asleep In The Porcelain House	5:28