Conceived and recorded on the industrial railyard fringes of Hoboken, New Jersey, Placed by the Gideons features 10 new hard-charging songs connected by one smoldering thread. The opening track (The Interstate) is a towering narrative that introduces two young and desperate characters on the run, seeking salvation on the road while struggling to make peace with a complicated past. Thus begins a fugitive odyssey through dead-end towns (Peekskill) and into the great american west (Stolen Tags, Breaker Breaker), where the two meet their ultimate fate. Lighter themes like breakups, summertime, and youthful defiance also feature in these characters’ travels via catchy powerpop songs (Two Kinds of People, Some Summer) that balance out the album’s weightier material.

Released on DIVE Records in June 2010, Placed by the Gideons is the sophomore LP from Wormburner. Their debut album, A Hero’s Welcome (2006), was produced by David Lowery, frontman for Cracker and Camper van Beethoven. A 12-song tirade melding smart lyrics with driving guitars and vintage Moog synthesizers, A Hero’s Welcome drew stellar reviews and earned Wormburner an enviable schedule of East Coast shows that established their reputation as one of New York City’s most bombastic live bands. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.