Vinnie Caruana, long known and respected in the punk community for fronting The Movielife and I Am The Avalanche announced the release of his debut solo LP today. Titled Survivor’s Guilt, this album will be released in North America on Equal Vision Records on May 27, 2016, and on Big Scary Monsters in the UK and Europe. Cover art and Survivor’s Guilt‘s tracklisting can be found below, and more details around the record will be announced very shortly, including upcoming tour dates in the US and UK.
“I found what I love to do long ago,” says Vinnie Caruana. “Writing, recording and performing music, traveling, and making friends and memories. I don’t think I’d truly be happy doing anything else. When you look at it that way, what else is really important than to be happy with your life and how you choose to live it.”
That sentiment precisely embodies the spirit in which Caruana wrote his debut solo album,Survivor’s Guilt. While he may have been alone in writing these songs, however, Survivor’s Guilt is not a solo record in the same way as Caruana’s largely acoustic 2013 EP, City By The Sea, was. On Survivor’s Guilt, Caruana plays acoustic and electric guitars, and enlisted the talents of I Am The Avalanche’s Kellen Robson and Brett ‘The Ratt’ Romnes on bass and drums as well.
Romnes’ role went far beyond performing on the album, however. “Along with playing the drums on the record,” Caruana explains. “Brett also produced and mixed the record. He’s an extremely talented producer and completely understands my vision. He works out of The Barber Shop Studios in New Jersey, where we tracked Survivor’s Guilt, and it’s a world-class facility. The gear at our disposal was pretty ridiculous and we made the very most of it.”
In addition, Rx Bandits’ Steve Choi was brought in to add instrumentation and sonic embellishments to Survivor’s Guilt. “Steve is an extremely talented and versatile musician,” explains Caruana. “His role was to fill spaces left for him with guitar, keys, etc. He took a real interest in the record and his belief and passion in my songwriting completely humbles me. His instincts with what certain parts of the songs needed were spot on.”
The result is an album boasting ten incredibly compelling, multi-layered tracks that bear witness to the breadth of Caruana’s all-encompassing musical vision. Indeed, “The record turned out exactly how I pictured it,” says Caruana. “I’m lucky to have Brett, Steve and Kellen on the album. They are brilliant musicians and the record is the best it can be as a result.”
Track List:
01) Burn It Down
02) We Don’t Have To Die Alone
03) Angel Of The North
04) Heavy Weighs The Summer
05) Survivor’s Guilt
06) Gem Street
07) Under My Side Of The Bed
08) I Don’t Believe You
09) Roll Back To Me
10) Your Religion Is Killing Me