News
Richmond, VA’s Northeast Regional are gearing up to release their new album In the Desert on April 10 via Tor Johnson Records (pre-order). Today, we’re premiering its towering centerpiece, “MR.”
The second song written for the record, “MR” feels like a mission statement. “‘MR’ was the second song we wrote for the album. In my view, it’s probably the embodiment of what I think of as ‘The Northeast Regional sound,’” says guitarist/vocalist Jeff Byers. “It blends aggressive rock riffs with melody and a certain noisiness into a coherent presentation. I say some fun things in this song.”
The balance between serrated post-hardcore edges and expansive, dynamic arrangementsis what defines In the Desert. FFO: Militarie Gun, Lifeguard, Pile, Superchunk, John Davis.
In the Desert was born at a crossroads. What started as Byers’ recording project has evolved into a fully realized five-piece — Byers, Mike Morris (guitar/vocals), James Doubek (guitar), Tyler Worley (bass), and Zach Nelson (drums) — with decades of DIY experience between them. After 2024’s Fitness EP, the band faced the question every group eventually confronts: now what?
Rather than chase industry polish, Northeast Regional doubled down on friendship and feeling. Writing and recording in their spare time, they poured big life changes into these 11 songs. From the birth of Byers’ daughter to his father’s dementia diagnosis, and Morris preparing to move his family to Oman. Time, its limits, and what to do with it pulse through the record’s core.
Recorded by Ricky Olson at Spacebomb Studios in Richmond, with vocals tracked by Pedro Aida and mastering by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege, In the Desert reshapes the band’s post-hardcore charge into something broader and more dynamic. It’s an album that stretches, swells, and hits hard when it needs to.
If “MR” is the sound of Northeast Regional locking into their identity, it’s also the sound of a band choosing to make something meaningful while they can. Crank it loud and keep an eye out for In the Desert April 10 on Tor Johnson Records.
