Aeon Station – “Alpine Drive”
![](https://static.stereogum.com/uploads/2021/12/Aeon-Station-1638890330.jpg)
Ebru Yildiz
On Friday, Aeon Station, the new project from the Wrens’ Kevin Whelan, will release the new album Observatory. The album is coming out amidst Whelan’s contentious split from his Wrens bandmate Charles Bissell, and it includes songs that presumably would’ve been on the Wrens’ long-awaited Meadowlands follow-up if that album had ever come out. Whelan has already released the early songs “Queens,” “Leaves,” and “Fade.” Today, Whelan has also shared “Alpine Drive,” the last song on Observatory.
Whelan’s decision to release “Alpine Drive” last was clearly deliberate. It’s a soft, chiming, understated track that speaks to the idea of finality: “Where are the memories to the plans that we made?/ White lights around me/ Have I lost my way?” It’s a love song, but it’s also a song about embracing whatever time you have left.
In a press release, Whelan says, “I felt ‘Alpine Drive’ was the perfect song to end the album as it represents an end to a journey. The paths we walk on are unpredictable, complicated, and long but ultimately, we are all striving to find our way ‘home.'” Listen below.
Observatory is out 12/10 on Sub Pop. Pre-order it here.