Birmingham shoegaze outfit Wray announced their new LP Hypatia yesterday and shared the first single “May 23″ on Consequence of Sound. The follow up to the band’s self-titled debut is set to release on January 15 w/ Communicating Vessels.

Based out of Birmingham, Alabama, the trio– comprised of lead singer/bass player David Brown, guitarist David Swatzell, and drummer Blake Wimberly– have a shared history that reaches back over a decade in the Birmingham music scene. Expectations for this compelling act continue to grow with the groundswell of support and patronage they’ve received since they first made their debut in 2013.

Following 2014’s self-titled debut on Communicating Vessels, Wray has spent the better part of the past year developing the ideas and sonic palette that would become their sophomore LP Hypatia. Through experimentation and a robust full length band, Wray has finally come into its own as a distinct entity. “We were trying to make a more cohesive record this go around. We weren’t sure until the last week of mixing how well we’d gotten to that point! We did fall into a mood with this album.” — David Brown. Co-produced by the band with Lynn Bridges (Jack Oblivian, Devendra Banhart, Dan Sartain) and mixed by Daniel Farris (Man or Astroman?, St. Vincent, Azure Ray), Hypatia takes its own path from swift energy to quiet contemplation while exploring a space of subtle contrasts and originality.

“A lot of the tracks you hear on the album are first takes. Lynn Bridges is all about that, the first take and the first time if you can. And that’s really cool, because a lot of the time, you can get the feel right from that first take.” — David Swatzell

Brown, the band’s lyricist, singles out the title track as a particular favorite, explaining its meaning as an example of how he approaches songs as a whole: “A lot of times my lyrical inspiration comes from documentaries or listening to science podcasts. Hypatia, she was a 4th Century scientist/philosophical/mathematician. [Hypatia was esteemed by contemporaries for her notable intellect, and was reported to have been killed at the hands of a religious mob in Alexandria, Egypt.] Meanwhile, a lot of the lyrics I write also have romantic undertones, similar to New Wave and postpunk bands as well.”

From standout tracks like the surging rhythmic workout of “May 23rd,” to the back-and-forth college rock/guitar crescendo overdrive of “Shiva,” the group’s triangulated presence is in full force, offering a glimpse into the forward-thinking minds of one of Birmingham’s best and brightest bands. Combined with decidedly uptempo numbers like the rollicking “Giant” and their inverted take on Faust’s krautrock classic “Jennifer”– Hypatia has set the bar exceedingly high for progressive music coming out of the Deep South.

Hypatia will be available on vinyl, cd, and digital formats– complete with brilliantly conceived album art by New Zealand-born/New York-based Tamaryn, and Shaun Durkan, from San Francisco’s Weekend — in early 2016 with supporting tours.