The Calling are finally putting a new record on the shelf. After more than two decades without a studio album, the Los Angeles band will release Before The World Turns To Dust on September 25 through TLG | Virgin Music Group.
It is their third full-length and first since 2004’s Two. The timing also marks 25 years since Camino Palmero introduced them to a wide audience and delivered the song that still defines them.
That song, of course, is “Wherever You Will Go.” Alex Band wrote it as a teenager. It reached the Top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, spent 23 weeks at No. 1 on Adult Pop Airplay, and was later named the decade’s top Adult Pop song. It has now passed a billion streams on Spotify. The band has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide and continues to draw millions of monthly listeners even without new material. Their catalog has shown up in unexpected places, including the Olympics and the Academy Awards.
The new album keeps the same core ingredients that built that catalog: big choruses, direct emotion, and Band’s distinctive voice. He is joined by Daniel Damico on guitar and keyboards and Dom Liberati on bass and backing vocals. John Fields produced the sessions, which took place in Nashville and Minneapolis.
Band has been clear about the approach. The record does not chase current trends. “If you like The Calling, you’re going to like this,” he said. “We keep it simple. After all of this time, we still write big and anthemic rock-pop songs that uplift and make you feel something.”
The first single, “Dust,” sets the tone. It began as a love song placed in a collapsing world and grew into something broader about connection and the idea that people share the same origin. Radio has already taken notice. More than 20 years after their last concentrated campaign, “Dust” landed as one of the most-added tracks at Hot AC in mid-August. An official video directed by Tom Flynn is out, along with a new acoustic performance.
The years between albums were not quiet. After Two, industry complications slowed the band. Band released a solo record in 2010. Soon after, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s and spent seven years working to regain control of his motor skills. By 2018 the symptoms had receded enough for him to write and perform again.
“I thought I would do my solo thing for two years and go back to The Calling,” Band said. “I never imagined all of the ensuing drama. The Calling is what I wanted from the beginning. When we got back on the road, it was crazy to see all of the fans who stuck by me. I didn’t even know I’d be alive at this point. It’s changed my perspective.”
The band is pairing the album with a new fan-engagement effort through Main & Meta’s AvenueD platform. A contest is already live. The top prize is a private acoustic performance at the winner’s home (U.S. residents only). Other prizes include a lifetime laminate for any Calling show, a VIP concert experience, and signed limited-edition vinyl.
Tour dates supporting the record have been announced. The run includes the New York State Fair on August 27, a show in Walla Walla, Washington on September 2, West Springfield, Massachusetts on September 19, a release-night performance at Dreamland in Malibu on September 25, and three nights at the Egyptian Theatre in Park City, Utah in mid-October.
The 15-track album opens with “Stand Up Now” and closes with “How Long.” Interludes titled “Runyon Skies,” “11th Hour,” and “Saudade” sit among the full songs.
Digital pre-orders and pre-saves are available now. Physical formats and merchandise bundles arrive September 1.
For a band that spent more than 20 years living off one massive song and a devoted audience, the new record is both a return and a test. Band and his bandmates are betting that the same sound that connected in 2001 still works. The first single suggests a lot of people are ready to find out.
