STS9 closed out 2025 with Human Dream, a release that marked a major moment for a band that built its identity on long-form exploration, community, and live performance. The project arrived on November 21 through 1320 Records and landed after ten years without a full-length studio album.
The group approached this record with a calm, grounded focus, recording everything in their own space for the first time. That decision shaped the entire mood of the album and allowed them to work with complete control.
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Across 19 tracks, STS9 leaned into their core strengths. They moved between funk, jazz, and electronic ideas with a confidence that came from nearly three decades of touring, writing, and improvising together. The album centered on questions they have raised for most of their career. How do people connect. How does art influence the way people process collective tension. How does sound help mark time. Those ideas were present throughout the record and created a throughline that felt honest to where the band stood in 2025.
A Record Formed During A Challenging Period
The album began during a difficult stretch in Santa Cruz. A major wildfire hit the area, burned more than eighty thousand acres, and forced the band to physically move their studio to protect their equipment. That period shaped the tone of the project. They worked in temporary spaces with smoke-heavy skies outside and used the process as a stabilizing routine. It gave the writing a clear sense of focus. They built the material piece by piece and allowed the environment to influence the energy without forcing it.
That context carried into the themes of Human Dream. The band aimed to reflect on daily perception, the difference between surface-level activity and deeper internal movement, and the value of slowing down long enough to notice those shifts. They wanted the record to feel grounded without relying on grand statements. Tracks like “Presence of Light” highlighted that mindset with calm melodies and steady momentum, offering a clear entry point into the rest of the album.
A Clear Step Forward For A Group With A Long History
STS9’s lineup of Hunter Brown, Jeffree Lerner, David Phipps, Zach Velmer, and Alana Rocklin has been stable for years, and that experience showed through the entire record. Their past work across drum and bass, funk, and instrument-driven house informed the pacing without locking them into a single direction. Human Dream functioned as a snapshot of where they currently stood and how they responded to change and disruption.
With more than thirty shows planned across 2025 and 2026, the band shifted their focus back toward the stage immediately after the record dropped. The release served as a strong foundation for the next cycle of their live work, giving fans a large, detailed project to sit with before the tour moved across major markets.
The post STS9 Marked A New Chapter With Their First Album In Ten Years, Human Dream appeared first on Magnetic Magazine.