In January of 2020, Vincent Zabielski reached out to his cousin, Marc Schuster, to see if he’d be interested in collaborating on a song or two. They had never been particularly close and hadn’t spoken in over a decade. Complicating matters, Vince lived in London while Marc lived across the Atlantic somewhere in the neighborhood of Philadelphia. Nonetheless, Marc built a pair of songs around a couple of tracks that Vince had recorded. Then COVID hit.

 

While the world went into lockdown, Vince and Marc continued to send files back and forth to each other. The process was slow. They both had day jobs and commitments to more immediate family. But as the months progressed, they started referring to themselves as The Ministry of Plausible Rumours, and an album started to emerge.

 

Given what was going on in the world, it’s not surprising that many of their songs strike a precarious balance between fear and hope—as well as isolation and connection. Perhaps a line from the album’s title track, “Summer Again,” says it all: Reach out to the world. Open the door. Don’t look to me for your reason to live. The next move is yours.

 

Comprised of fourteen tracks, Summer Again draws on a wide range of influences and deftly rides the fence between adult-oriented rock and pop as echoes of the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and Iggy Pop bump up against traces of Elton John, Carole King, and Beck (among others).

 

Summer Again will be available through all major streaming services on October 19, 2021. 

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Album Credits

All songs written, performed, and recorded by Vincent Zabielski and Marc Schuster.

Mixed by Brandon Heffley.

Mastered by Jon Astley, Close to the Edge Mastering.

Cover art by Kevin F. Quinn