Crooked Fingers

Thirteen years after reuniting following their original 1998 split, Chapel Hill, N.C.-reared indie rock favorites Archers Of Loaf will be back this fall with their first new album in 24 years. Reason in Decline is due Oct. 21 from Merge Records and is led by the strident, anthemic single “In the Surface Noise.” [embedded content][embedded content] Vocalist/guitarist Eric Bachmann, guitarist Eric Johnson, bassist Matt Gentling and drummer Mark Price have toured on and off since 2011 and released a handful of new songs in 2020, but Bachmann tells SPIN he didn’t feel this first batch of material was cohesive enough to form the backbone of a full album. Instead, he funneled the hopelessness of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rage inspired by the Trump administration into 10 fresh compositions on...