THE RECORDING

After several false starts, and a story truly stranger than fiction, the universe connected Vintage Blonde with Steve Albini at Electrical Audio in Chicago. Steve's style and the fabulous space he created to capture music, made this the perfect place to bring our project. 

Afterlife is one of the final projects engineered by Steve. Vintage Blonde worked with him to capture a live, raw, authentic performance sound in a single recorded playthrough using analogue tape and limited overdubs. Steve recorded and premixed the entire album and completed the final mix for six of eight songs when he unexpectedly passed away just prior to the final mixing session. Steve Albini was so supportive of female rockers, and Vintage Blonde Chicago is honored to be included in his body of work. 

THE MUSIC

Vintage Blonde started out as a classic rock cover band, playing the songs we grew up listening to. Inspired by the genre, Afterlife pays tribute to this music with eight original tunes done in a style we call “the new old rock.”

THE ARTWORK

An original piece called “Rise” is the cover art for Afterlife. At first glance it is difficult to tell if the aliens have destroyed our planet or are here to save it. But the “alien message” is one of hope for mankind. The phoenix rising from the flames symbolizes our rebirth and a new understanding of what is really important.

Staying true to the idea of creating a record much like those classic ones from our past, the artwork was hand painted in oil and not computer generated in any way. And there are visual nods to each song on the album (some obvious and some implied). Enjoy searching for them all.