After four decades as the driving force behind Skid Row, bassist and songwriter Rachel Bolan steps forward with his first-ever punk rock solo album under the name BOLAN. Gargoyle of the Garden State, which drops on June 12th via earMUSIC, is a bold, deeply personal debut rooted in the grit, attitude, and storytelling spirit of his New Jersey upbringing. The best things in life are from New Jersey, right?
To kick things off, Bolan shared a video for the anthemic track “At War with Myself” (featuring Danko Jones). A fun catchy punk rock sing-a-long, and a far departure from the aforementioned Skid Row.
“Gargoyle of the Garden State is not a project, it is every bit of my soul,” says Bolan. “Like me, it knows when to be serious and also knows where the party is.”
- Produced by multi‑Grammy winner Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Skid Row, Rush, Evanescence, Alice In Chains), the album began as a simple conversation between friends. What started casually quickly evolved into a record that would ultimately define Bolan’s voice as both a songwriter and storyteller.
- Musically, the album delivers hook-driven, anthemic songs that fuse punk energy with melodic sensibility, wrapped in swagger and raw edge of what early listeners have already called “quintessentially New Jersey.”
- Expanding beyond his role as a bassist, Bolan performs the majority of instruments, shaping the record from the ground up. Drawing on influences from Brit Pop and glam to punk rock and new wave, the album represents a lifetime in music.
- Gargoyle of the Garden State also features an impressive lineup of guests, including Corey Taylor, Danko Jones, Nuno Bettencourt, Damon Johnson, Steve Conte, and fellow Skid Row members Scotti Hill, Dave “Snake” Sabo, and Rob Hammersmith.
At its core, Gargoyle of the Garden State is Bolan at his most honest, a record full of attitude, melody, and personality unmistakably his own.
