The Rupert Selection deliver seismic sonic thunder with ‘I Saw God’
The Rupert Selection deliver seismic sonic thunder with ‘I Saw God’
Boston alt-rock trio debuts the video on Wednesday, May 17
OUT NOW: Watch the ‘I Saw God’ video on YouTube
New music produced by Brian Charles set for release later this year
NOW PLAYING: Listen to ‘I Saw God’ on Spotify
BOSTON, Mass. [May 24, 2023] -- Whenever a band releases a new song with a title like “I Saw God,” it’s easy to seek any type of meaning or inspiration behind it. But you won’t necessarily find that here with The Rupert Selection, who unleashed their latest dose of seismic sonic thunder to the streams in early May, with the track’s official music video set to debut on Wednesday, May 17.
“I like the idea of keeping the interpretation of this one as vague and open-ended as possible,” admits guitarist and vocalist Reilly Somach, who penned the “I Saw God” lyrics. “Whatever the listener perceives as being God within the song, that’s what it is.”
It’s also a single that finds the Massachusetts alt-rock and psychedelic grunge band – rounded out by bassist Sam Bouvé and drummer Peter W. Bartash – expanding its aural arsenal, clocking in at an economical 146 seconds in length and wasting exactly no time in reaching cruising altitude. Produced and mixed by Brian Charles and recorded at Mad Oak Studios in Allston, “I Saw God” marks the band’s first new music of 2023, following the Bandcamp Friday release back in February of a pair of late-2022 singles. It’s the start of a continuous cycle of new releases for The Rupert Selection, who will unveil a series of singles before a new full-length album hits either in late summer or early autumn.
That release date probably depends on when the ground stops shaking after this latest effort.
“‘I Saw God’ is a continuation of us trying to evolve and push our creative boundaries, trying new things and seeing how far our sound can go,” Somach says, before issuing a sort-of mantra that can double for the the band’s overall creative vision: “Keep everything progressing, but keep it still familiar enough to our roots.”
Those roots have helped position The Rupert Selection as one of Boston’s more exciting, and unpredictable bands. Previous single “Astronauts” landed on DigBoston’s Best of 2022 roundup, which alongside companion track “Then Again” earned the band comparisons to ‘90s-era guitar-rock luminaries like Hum, Soundgarden, and Smashing Pumpkins. They scored back-to-back Rock Artist of The Year nominations in the 2018 and 2019 Boston Music Awards after upending the 2017 Rock and Roll Rumble with a spirited run to the finals, the same year WGBH named them one of 10 bands “on the rise” in Boston.
But despite the growing accolades and attention, The Rupert Selection still feel like a band only getting started, and just recently finding their true musical voice. That made fleshing out “I Saw God,” a track where the seeds were first planted a while back, the right choice to coalesce with their newly solidified lineup and blossoming relationship with Charles, himself no stranger to grandiose and ambitious indie rock sounds as a member of The Sheila Divine and longtime producer and owner-operator of Zippah Recording Studios.
“I’ve had the main riff and some of the lyrics kicking around for a few years but wasn’t really sure what to do with it or what kind of song it wanted to be,” adds Somach. “I just let it sit on the ‘shelf’ for a while. I started playing it at practice one day and after everyone joined in it came together almost instantly. It feels really exciting and new for us to have such a quick high energy song in our catalog, too; we definitely wanted to take the less is more approach with it and make something powerful but concise, maybe a little different than what people might expect from us.”
That includes the song’s video, which showcases the band in their strongest element – performing live. With a track as loaded as “I Saw God,” and the band’s preference to not let the title or lyrical themes override the music, the approach to crafting a visual was a simple one.
“After releasing multiple videos that had an emphasis on storylines and connecting themes, characters and masks, we realized the most different thing we could do was just make a straight ahead performance style video with the members of the band being shown,” Somach adds. “It’s something we’ve never done before. We figured we eventually needed to have at least one performance style video and felt this song was the one to do that with.”
And as far as the reaction to “I Saw God” the single and the video?
“We just hope people give it a listen and like it,” Somach concludes. “If they don’t, that’s cool, too.”
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The Rupert Selection is:
Reilly Somach – Vocals and guitar
Sam Bouvé – Bass and additional vocals
Peter W. Bartash – Drums
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Production credits:
Written by The Rupert Selection
Lyrics by Reilly Somach
Produced and mixed by Brian Charles
Recorded at Mad Oak Studios, in Allston, MA
Artwork by Crystal Araiza
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‘I Saw God’ single artwork: