Speedy Ortiz Reissue Debut LP for Its 10th Anniversary

Major Arcana returns to stores on November 17th

November 15, 2023November 15, 2023 Ron Hart 0 Comments 10th anniversary, Bettie Serveert, Carpark Records, Darl Ferm, Helium, Major Arcana, Matt Robidoux, Mike Falcone, Sadie Dupuis, Speedy Ortiz

It was 10 years ago this summer that Speedy Ortiz released their seminal debut LP Major Arcana, an album that gave indie rock the kick in the shins it needed at the time.

What initially started out as a DIY home project by its frontperson Sadie Dupuis would quickly evolve into a formidable quartet rounded out by drummer Mike Falcone, bassist Darl Ferm and guitarist Matt Robidoux. And Major Arcana was their calling card, a classic indie rock album in the vein of Helium and Bettie Serveert that still sounds fresh a decade later.

For the 10th Anniversary of their breakout release, Speedy Ortiz is celebrating with a new edition of Major Arcana, set for release on November 17th, 2023. Along with tracks remastered by The Lodge’s Emily Lazar and Chris Allgood, showcasing album engineer Justin Pizzoferrato’s original pristine mix, the new, limited vinyl color pressings come with a photo spread from Dupuis’ archives and special liner notes by Lars Gotrich (NPR Music).

Speedy Ortiz Major Arcana, Carpark Records 2013

“Released July 9, 2013, Major Arcana is filled with wedding chapel exorcisms, oiled-down attractants and criminally twisted puny little villains — this is Dupuis’ haunted lexicon as she scales the toxic Aggro Crag of a breakup,” writes Gotrich. “And while Dupuis wrote these songs, the band’s convulsing arrangements and diverse influences sprawled the squigglier edges of feedbacked fuzz to mete out matters of the heart.”

“Speedy made Major Arcana in a flash of momentum—four days of recording at Sonelab with our pal Justin Pizzoferrato, paid for with the cash we scrounged up on a summer tour of this country’s basements,” says Sadie Dupuis. “‘Tour tight’-ness was always our paramount goal, and I’d say we were sufficiently road-tested when we hammered out these fourteen songs, all of them stuffed to the brim with harmonies, guitarmonies, percussion, key overdubs written on the fly. Though the 10 songs that made the album have morphed and mutated thanks to the stages they’ve graced across the past decade, when I listen back to the original recordings, I still hear our boundless energy, hunger for the highway, and excitement to play with our friends—and our dearest wish, to pay homage to the Massachusetts scenes that welcomed us so warmly.”

Pre-order the anniversary edition of Major Arcana on the group’s BandCamp page or directly through their longtime label Carpark Records.