Abronia to Release Shapes Unravel Feb. 20; “New Imposition” Video Posted
Big-drummed heavy-psych Americana rockers Abronia are coming back with their fourth album, Shapes Unravel, on Feb. 20, 2026. Set to release on Cardinal Fuzz in Europe and Feeding Tube Records in the States, it’s the Portland, Oregon, six-piece’s follow-up to 2022’s Map of Dawn (review here) and 2023’s The High Desert Sessions (review here), and the opening track, “New Imposition,” is streaming now to mark the launch of preorders.
I like this band. I’ve liked them since their first record, and that was only eight years ago so I’m not bragging or anything. But they’ve been consistent in some ways — Keelin Mayer remains a core presence on vocals, and the arrangements surrounding with pedal steel, tenor sax and other-than-big-drum percussion have always been there — and as the PR wire posits, are plenty recognizable in terms of their sound. You know them when you hear them, but as “New Imposition” reminds, they’re always up to something a little different than they were last time out.
The track gets a little wild, but well it should for being at the start of the record. I haven’t heard the full-thing yet, but I’m willing to speculate it doesn’t get any less outbound from there. So much the better. I look forward to finding out:
Abronia Announces New LP, Shares “New Imposition” Single + Video
PRE-SAVE: Abronia – Shapes Unravel
Pre-Save: https://show.co/jf49ZZx
Pre-Order (US): https://feedingtuberecords.com/releases/shapes-unravel/
Pre-Order (UK): https://cardinalfuzz.bigcartel.com/product/abronia-shapes-unravel
Some bands make it obvious from the first few notes—a single tone, a specific push on the tempo, the way the air moves around the instruments—and you know it’s them. Abronia is one of those bands.
From the first thud of their 32-inch bass drum to the coil of pedal steel winding through the haze, the sound of this Portland-based six-piece is unmistakable. Over the past decade, Abronia has been refining their singular blend of widescreen psychedelia, desert noir, Eastern drone, avant-jazz, doom, post-punk, and acid-folk—channeling something that feels at once ritualistic and cinematic.
Today, the band is announcing their fourth studio album, Shapes Unravel. Sonically, this is Abronia’s most ambitious and compositionally daring record to date—the album moves with a strange gravitational pull, layering grief, haunted memory, and flashes of transcendence into something emotionally expansive and structurally bold. Moments of crushing weight give way to eerie stillness, held together by an urgency that feels vital, not calculated. It’s a record that doesn’t politely wait for your attention; it pulls you into its orbit whether you’re ready or not.
Our first glimpse into Shapes Unravel is the single “New Imposition.” The track opens with echoing guitar plucking and eerie pedal steel and unfolds quickly into a cinematic score, transporting you instantly into the world of Abronia.
When asked about the song, singer/saxophone player Keelin Mayer says, “Going into a Fred Meyer (Pacific Northwest one stop shopping) during the pandemic–walking around the store while your drug addicted boyfriend shove racks of ribs, ice cream and deodorant down his pants, while people are shooting up in the bathroom. We think someone steals his iPhone at the self-checkout, but it turns up shoved between two bags of chips. You only realize your boyfriend was shoplifting when he pulls the stolen things out of his pants in the car. The guilt and shame you feel as you watch so many people succumb to addiction. That Fred Meyer location is now closed because it couldn’t sustain the wave of crime. Watching the fruits of unbridled capitalism and the greed of the ruling elite bloom into full technicolor. Try to run away before the wave gets you too.”
Alongside the release of “New Imposition,” the band is sharing a music video.
“New Imposition” is out today on all DSPs. Shapes Unravel is due for release on February 20th, 2026.
Abronia Live
2/26 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios w/ Jackie-O Motherfucker
2/27 – Seattle, WA @ Add-a-Ball w/ Jackie-O Motherfucker, Von Wildenhaus
2/28 – Bellingham, WA @ Makeshift w/ Jackie-O Motherfucker, The Sheen
Shapes Unravel – Tracklisting:
1. New Imposition
2. Mirrored Ends of Light
3. Weapons Against Progress
4. Walker’s Dead Birds
5. Gemini
6. Petals and Sand
7. Asleep in the Porcelain House
On Shapes Unravel, their fourth studio album, Abronia pushes deeper into both composition and feeling. The band’s lineup has shifted slightly since the last one, but the chemistry remains intact. Shaver has put down the sticks and moved to guitar, Danny Metcalfe has stepped in on bass, and Robert Grubaugh (who previously filled in on a European tour with the band) has taken over on the big drum. Eric Crespo’s guitar and backing vocals remain a driving force, while Rick Pedrosa continues to carve strange and searing shapes with pedal steel. Keelin Mayer’s vocals—whether leaning into viciousness or hypnotic intimacy—are a stronger force than ever, while her tenor sax and, on one song, flute (as showcased on “Gemini”) threaten to send the whole thing into the stratosphere. The addition of strings and brass brings an orchestral depth that expands their sonic language without diluting its punch.
Like their previous three records, this one was tracked at Portland’s legendary Echo Echo studio (formerly Type Foundry). And like their previous studio album, Map of Dawn, it was mixed by Tape Op founder Larry Crane, a longtime ally of the band’s sonic excavations. The band’s commitment to capturing the unfiltered, spontaneous magic of being in the room together remains a cornerstone of their sound, creating a record that is at once chaotic, controlled, and unapologetically alive.
Abronia is –
Keelin Mayer: Vocals, Tenor Saxophone, Flute
Rick Pedrosa: Pedal Steel, Percussion
Robert Grubaugh: Big Drum, Percussion, Melodica
Danny Metcalfe: Bass
James Shaver: Guitar
Eric Crespo: Guitar, Backing Vocals
https://abronia.bandcamp.com/
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http://facebook.com/abroniapdx
cardinalfuzz.bigcartel.com/
https://cful.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/cardinalfuzz/
https://www.facebook.com/CardinalFuzz/
http://feedingtuberecords.com/
https://feedingtuberecords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/feedingtuberecords_rozztoxart/
https://www.facebook.com/FeedingtubeRecords/
