THE ANNOUNCEMENT
Melissa Auf der Maur is releasing seven 1990s four-track demos she recorded in her living room while the major-label machine wanted radio hits — untouched except for mastering *‡. BASS WOMB ROOM: My '90s 4-Track Demos x Field Recordings drops September 4 via Envision Records, her first new music in over 15 years *‡§. The album also includes eight new Alex Crow-produced interludes created for her photography exhibition opening at the Art Gallery of Ontario *§.
THE DETAILS
- Digital and cassette release September 4, 2026 via Envision Records §
- Seven unreleased demos recorded on a Tascam four-track in the '90s using acoustic guitar, bass, vintage Ross phaser pedal, cheap keyboard, backwards cassette flips, and pitch shifting *§
- Lyrics pulled from stream-of-consciousness writing and diary entries *
- Field recordings sampled with a pocket cassette dictaphone include a dripping faucet and camera shutter sounds *§
- Eight new sound pieces by Alex Crow score the My '90s Rock Photographs exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario, opening to members September 2 and public September 8 *§
- 240-page photobook My '90s Rock Photographs releases September 8 via DelMonico Books/D.A.P. and the AGO ‡§
- Preview track "Skip a Beat" available now *‡
WHY IT MATTERS
SKIP IT if you need polished studio albums — these are literally home four-track experiments she made to stay sane between Hole's Live Through This tour and Smashing Pumpkins' farewell run *§. The interludes sample audiences she filmed by mounting a handycam on her bass amp during those arena shows, which is a better artifact of that era than another remastered reissue §.