Hawel/McPhail - Sorrow Wonderland (2026) [Hi-Res]

Second album by Hamburg indie rock veterans.

“Life Is What Happens While You're Busy Making Other Plans” – rarely has a frequently used phrase been more apt than for this second album by Hamburg musicians Rick McPhail (Mint Mind, Tocotronic) and Frehn Hawel (Tigerbeat).

Their highly acclaimed debut album “Transmissions From The Upper Room”, released in 2021, was an ode to McPhail's refuge and studio “The Upper Room” where the two longtime friends met regularly, checked out new fuzz pedals – and at some point began writing songs together that eventually became “Transmissions”

“Sorrow Wonderland” on the other hand, is a different animal, in parts even a beast. The Upper Room once again serves as the creative headquarters, with McPhail on drums and recording controls and Hawel as songwriter on guitar and vocals – but that's where the similarities end. On “Sorrow Wonderland,” listeners experience two men who have learned that life can take turns that no one asked for, but that sometimes leave them with no choice but to put music on the back burner.