Devin Townsend announces new studio album PowerNerd with video for the title track
Devin Townsend has announced his new studio album, PowerNerd, due out October 25, 2024. Devin Townsend’s career is one of many distinct eras. He was the leader of Strapping Young Lad, the linchpin of the Devin Townsend Project, and the co-architect of country duo Casualties of Cool, all while maintaining his prolific and lauded solo project. Now, the polymath’s latest era begins with PowerNerd.
“It was a conscious thing,” says Devin of his brand new album, whose music he wrote in just 11 days. “I thought, ‘I’ve spent so much time thinking about every aspect of what I do – what would happen if I didn’t do this?’ Maybe I’d have the opportunity to be a little more direct about what I’m trying to do. I really wanted to see if I could break through some of those detours.”
One song that embodies this is the album’s title track (featuring a guest appearance from Jamey Jasta), and you can watch the video for this high-speed, fast-paced song here:
Stream the track and pre-order the album here: https://devin-townsend.lnk.to/PowerNerd.
But that aggression is far from the only thing that comes out of PowerNerd’s 11 episodic tracks. “Dreams of Light,” on the other hand, is a moody and dynamic four-minute ballad. “Younger Lover” calms down after an explosive opening to lush verses of synths and vocals, while “Falling Apart” and “Jainism” add texture upon texture to gentle, acoustic introductions.
While PowerNerd’s music was written in less than two weeks, the lyrics were refined over a much longer period of time into a narrative of strength and healing. In “Falling Apart,” Devin tells himself to “keep the tension under control.” “You’ve got to believe that things are only going to get better,” the following song, “Gratitude,” powerfully declares. These uplifting messages even play into the record’s title.
Devin offers a definition: “I would say a power nerd is someone who has a tendency that society deems weak or worthless, whether it’s empathy or being insular or introverted, and they turn that into some kind of personal strength. They’re like, ‘OK, yeah, I’m sensitive to this, that and that, but man, I’m going to get through this! I’m going to do things with that sensitivity that’s rooted in strength.'”
“PowerNerd” will be available in various formats, including a limited 2CD+Blu-ray artbook (with the album, bonus tracks and Devin’s first ever Dolby Atmos mix), a limited 2CD digipak in O-Card, a standard CD, a gatefold LP and a digital album.
The full track list for PowerNerd is as follows:
1. PowerNerd
2. Falling apart
3. Ankle breaker
4. Gratitude
5. Dreams of Light
6. Ubelia
7. Jainism
8. Younger Lover
9. Glacier
10. Goodbye
11. Ruby Red Quaker
The album artwork was created by our long-time collaborator Travis Smith.
Not only does PowerNerd express strength born of adversity, it also opens the door to Devin’s immediate future. His positive and incisive nature will soon be contrasted by the follow-up, The Moth – which he describes as “orchestral, over-the-top, dark and uncomfortable” – and the “outlandish weirdness” of the finale, Axolotl. Both works are already written, and together the trilogy will express the incredible range of this man’s musical talent.
