If you're the right age, the world "Candlebox" brings up all kinds of indelible memories. If you're too young, just know that Candlebox were a Seattle rock band who happened to catch on during the grunge explosion, even though they weren't really a grunge band. They were one of the first acts who signed to Madonna's Maverick label, and their self-titled 1993 debut spawned a ton of radio hits and went quadruple platinum. But they got a lot of backlash for riding the grunge wave, even though they never really tried to do that, and their subsequent records didn't sell. Candlebox ultimately broke up and got back together, and they're still a band today, but their name will always evoke a certain moment of rock 'n' roll excitement, confusion, and resentment. Now, Candlebox have a brand new Mountain Goats song named after them.
Next month, the great and ever-prolific Mountain Goats will release their new album Days. Frontman John Darnielle originally intended to call the LP Grunges, and it was going to serve as the spiritual sequel to the band's extremely cool 2017 record Goths. Plans changed, but Days track titles like "Song For Layne Staley" and "Woodstock '99" suggest that it'll still explore the reverberations of the grunge era. After sharing the early singles "Going To Fennario," "Charlie Sheen Reaches Out To The Feds," and "Shallow Grave," the Mountain Goats have now dropped their new single "Candlebox." It's such a banger.
"Candlebox" isn't exactly about Candlebox. Instead, Darnielle sings "Candlebox" from the perspective of a hopeful '90s rock band who gets the life-changing opportunity to open for Candlebox on tour. (You know who really did open for Candlebox on tour? The "She Don't Use Jelly"-era Flaming Lips. "Candlebox" probably isn't about them, though.) Presumably, this band did not go on to great things, but the song exists in the moment of infinite possibility. It swells and surges and explodes, and Darnielle belts out the word "Candlebox" with such affectionate wonder. Here's what he says about it:
Our new single is called "Candlebox" and is about a nameless band in the '90s who get offered an opening slot on the Candlebox tour. 1993, maybe, or 1994, and shortly after the whole experience they’re not a band anymore. Days is an album about how the past looks when you’re looking at it from way down the line, so I had to call in Matt Nathanson to sing harmonies; we were young men together when stories like this one were being passed around like lore. Recorded at the legendary Sear Sound in Manhattan during perfect weather. John Congleton produced and mixed. Jon Wurster on drums, Matt Douglas on guitar, Rob Jost played bass, I played keys and did the guitar solo. Set the dial for maximum '90s because we pulled out all the stops: enjoy!
So: How does the real Candlebox feel about "Candlebox"? Stereogum reached out to Candlebox frontman Kevin Martin for comment, and he says that the Mountain Goats are "amazing" and that the band shared the song with him before it was released. He says he loves it. I love it, too. Listen below.
Days is out 8/7 on the Mountain Goats' own Cadmean Dawn label.
