Two years after introducing fans to new singer Jeff Gutt on their self-titled LP, Stone Temple Pilots will return with their new album Perdida, which arrives on stores on February 7th. It’s an acoustic record largely recorded on vintage instruments.
“This is an album we’ve been wanting to make for quite some time,” says STP bassist Robert DeLeo. “Most of our songs start acoustically and we felt these would come across in the most genuine way if we kept them that way.”
It’s not a concept record in the strict sense of the term, but many of the songs on Perdida (which translates to “loss” from Spanish) radiate with heartbreak and grief. “I was looking back at difficult moments in my life,” says Gutt, who wrote most of the lyrics. “I was trying to be vulnerable and that’s a scary thing to do, but it’s also kind of comfortable.”
The songs started to come together on the road during the past year, including their summer tour with Bush and the Cult. “There’s a lot of downtime when we’re not on stage leading up to the gigs,” says Gutt. “Rob or [STP guitarist] Dean [DeLeo] would play me something acoustically, hum the melody and we’d go from there. We were just supposed to write a few songs for an EP, but it turned into a whole record. We were obviously really influenced in the moment and had a lot to say.”
The album, which was recorded at drummer Eric Kretz’s Bomb Shelter Studio and produced by the band, begins with “Fare Thee Well,” which is also the first single. “That’s about being on the road,” says Robert DeLeo. “And it’s an observation about life.” Another song, “Sunburst,” had no title until Dean DeLeo told Gutt he wrote it on a sunburst guitar. “I told him that’s a great title for a song,” says Gutt. “Later I was having some wine and watching the sun come up in Los Angeles over the roof of my building. I could see the sun glaring and I was like, ‘That’s a song there.’”
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Fans would be forgiven for thinking the album’s melancholic tone reflects the group’s state of mind after the 2015 death of Scott Weiland and his replacement, Chester Bennington, two years later. But Gutt says the only song that even touches on those twin tragedies is “I Didn’t Know The Time.” “I didn’t know Scott,” says Gutt. “But I’d known Chester since 2000, so there was some reminiscing about him on that song. That’s really the only time on the album. The rest was all ex-girlfriends and all that.”
Two days before the album hits, the group will launch a special acoustic North American tour of theaters and clubs. “We’ll probably have a keyboard player and another guitar player and some strings,” says Robert DeLeo. “It’s always nice to add some wonderful musicians and hear what they’re doing to your music.”
The nature of the shows will put extra emphasis on Gutt’s voice, but he says that if he could survive the pressure of his 2017 debut show with the band, this will be easy. “The first gig I did was at the Troubadour when they were announcing who I was and they broadcast it live on SiriusXM radio,” he says. “It doesn’t get any more high pressure than that. So much was riding on everything at that time, but things have gotten more laid-back since then. So we just get to go out there and celebrate the music.”
Perdida Track List
1. “Fare Thee Well”
2. “Three Wishes”
3. “Perdida”
4. “I Didn’t Know The Time”
5. “Years”
6. “She’s My Queen”
7. “Miles Away”
8. “You Found Yourself While Losing Your Heart”
9. “I Once Sat At Your Table”
10. “Sunburst”
An Evening with Stone Temple Pilots Tour Dates
February 5th – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
February 7th – Snoqualmie, WA @ Snoqualmie Casino
February 8th – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory
February 9th – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
February 12th – San Francisco, CA @ Herbst Theatre
February 13th – Beverly Hills, CA @ Saban Theater
February 15th – Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
February 17th – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater
February 19th – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom
February 21st – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore Detroit
February 22nd – Covington, KY @ Madison Theater
February 25th – New York, NY @ Gramercy Theatre
February 27th – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
February 29th – Atlantic City, NJ @ Tropicana
March 1st – Boston, MA @ The Wilbur Theatre