Of Mice & Men announce new record "Echo"

Gold-selling hard rockers Of Mice & Men — Aaron Pauley (bass + vocals ), Valentino Arteaga (drums), Alan Ashby (guitar), and Phil Manansala (guitar) — are pleased to announce their seventh album “Echo”, out December 3 via SharpTone Records.

The album is comprised of the previously issued “Timeless” and “Bloom” EPs, along with the new and final “Ad Infinitum” EP. The EP will be released on vinyl in April 2022.

The full “Echo” album tracklisting is below. Pre-order the album digitally here. The physical pre-order will go live on Friday, October 22, at the same link.

The band has also shared the video for their latest single “Fighting Gravity”.

“‘Fighting Gravity’ is about learning to let go, while also recognizing the impermanence and shortness of life”, says Pauley. “We think we’re in control of so much, but we’re really not, and that existential dilemma is at the foundation of the human condition”.

“Echo is a snapshot of the last year-and-a-half of our lives”, the band says, summing the album up effectively. “It covers loss and growth, life and impermanence, love, and the infinite — how the most wonderful and most tragic parts of the human experience are deeply intertwined”.

The Southern California-based quartet used their time spent in the 2020 lockdown, which was the result of the COVID-19 pandemic, in an incredibly productive way. They recorded all of the music on “Echo” during that time by working remotely via Zoom and sharing files. They had not been in the same room together since February 2020 and the start of the global shutdown.

The album was entirely self-produced by the band and mixed and mastered by Pauley. “Echo” also includes the band’s take on the Crosby, Stills, and Nash track “Helplessly Hoping”, which closes out the release.

As is the case with all previous 2021 music drops, the artwork (pictured below) was designed by the iconic artist Derek Hess.