When Paul Janeway learned he was going to be a father, he decided to scribe his thoughts – joy, fear, confusion – as messages to his then-unborn daughter. Those letters became Angels In Science Fiction, the stunning fifth album from St. Paul & The Broken Bones.
Angels In Science Fiction was written in the span of a few weeks after St. Paul's Paul Janeway learned that his wife was pregnant with their daughter, Marigold. Following the examples set by greats like Aristotle, William James and John Steinbeck, Janeway penned the album as a series of letters to his then-unborn daughter.
“A few people told me it would be a good idea to write letters to my yet to be born daughter before she arrived into the world,” says Janeway. “That is what Angels In Science Fiction is. Themes throughout the album are faith, nature vs nurture, anxiety and beauty. This is a record I would have written whether I did this for a living or not. I don’t know if those records come along all the time.”
Produced by Matt Ross-Spang at the legendary Sam Phillips Recording Studio in Memphis, Angels In Science Fiction finds the band stretching further out, building on the shadowy psychedelia and intricate, experimental R&B of 2022’s The Alien Coast. The group has continued to expand their sound with every record, branching out well beyond old-school soul into sleek summertime funk and at times classic disco. The new record finds Janeway at his very best. With Angels In Science Fiction, St. Paul & The Broken Bones have crafted their most moving, comprehensive work spanning their entire sonic and emotional scope.
Founded in Birmingham, Alabama in 2011, St. Paul & The Broken Bones consists of Paul Janeway (vocals), Jesse Phillips (bass), Browan Lollar (guitar), Kevin Leon (drums), Al Gamble (keyboards), Allen Branstetter (trumpet), Chad Fisher (trombone), and Amari Ansari (saxophone). The eight-piece ensemble burst into the world with their 2014 debut, Half The City, establishing a sound that quickly became a calling card and landing the band a slew of major festivals including Lollapalooza, Coachella and Glastonbury. Critical praise from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, SPIN and NPR followed, leading to shared stages with some of the world’s biggest artists, Elton John and The Rolling Stones among them, and launched an impressive run of headlining tours behind what Esquire touted as a “potent live show that knocks audiences on their ass.”