Song Premiere: Dispatch, 'Circles Around the Sun'

Click to listen to Dispatch's 'Circles Around The Sun'

New England trio Dispatch is back with their first full-length studio album in 12 years, and this time they're coming out swinging. "Circles Around the Sun," the album's title track, is a foot-stomping, upbeat dive into a more rock-like sound for the band, whose songs in the past usually carried a more mellow vibe.

According to the band, though, the album's focus is not to impress their fans with their modified sound, but rather to tell a story that holds a deep meaning for them. "CATS is the legend of our friend Larry Perry, who passed away this past year," bassist-vocalist Chad Urmston told Rolling Stone. "In the early 1960s the space race had captured America. Looking to outdo the Soviets without putting their necks on the line, NASA, in an unprecedented, controversial move, took a very disabled young man away from his family to ready him for space flight. Both the USSR and USA had sent dogs and chimps into space, but the USA wanted more. Larry cannot walk or speak but was in perfect health and, more importantly, in the eyes of the government, expendable. Unbeknownst to them, from a very young age, Larry had always been an adrenaline junkie and the scientists and government officials were actually fulfilling the biggest adventure he could ever dream – to be launched into space.  To everyone's surprise, Larry returns from space triumphant and smiling."

Circles Around the Sun will be released on August 21st, followed by the band's extensive North American tour in the fall. In addition, Dispatch will continue their long tradition of raising funds for their charity, Amplifying Education, by donating a dollar from every concert ticket sold.