Helvetia (Jason from Duster) preps ‘Essential Aliens,’ shares “New Mess”

While his '90s band Duster are back in action, Jason Albertini is still making records under the Helvetia banner and will release Essential Aliens on June 25 via Joyful Noise. That will be Album #10 for Helvetia and Jason made it during lockdown in his Portland, OR basement after setting himself a goal to write and record a song a day till he had an whole record.

The first single from Essential Aliens is "New Mess," and you can hear a bit of Built to Spill -- Jason played in the band for most of the 2010s -- in its bummed out breed of poppy indie rock. Jason also directed the video for the song, which was inspired by a recurring dream where his life is "turned upside down by a series of unexplainable events that turn out to be orchestrated by a ghost."

Watch the video, and check out Essential Aliens' artwork and tracklist, below.

Tracklist:
Not So Infinite Life of Weird
Crooks Go In The Ground
New Mess
Jumper
Claw
That Strange Pull
Rocks On The Ramp
Star Hinged Trap
Caroline Stays / The Al Snatch
Why Am I Missing
The Echo Creek
Does It Go Backwards
Better Get Gifted
Skit 8