Minneapolis singer-songwriter Mason Jennings is about to release his latest album, Underneath the Roses (Loosegroove Records), out August 25. 

Following the birth of his son, Western, Underneath the Roses was the result of an unprecedented burst of creativity in March 2022. Jennings came to Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam, Loosegroove) and Regan Hagar Jennings with a collection of songs that were crafted – totaling around forty-eight – and were dwindled down to a tight eleven. As for the title of the album, Jennings says, “I called it Underneath the Roses because I feel like these songs are musical roses and when I look below them there are many thorns and so much dirt and soil. All of it was needed for them to come into existence and bloom.”

Having previously shared “No Ordinary Friend” Jennings has dropped the latest single from Underneath the Roses, “Fear is Wrong.”  Accompanying the single is a nostalgic video that illustrates life as a teenager in the 80s along with quick clips of Jennings himself. “Fear is Wrong” is a quiet voyage with Jennings’ vocals being still along with steady guitars and soft drums.

“I think this song is my first to include vampires, witches, and pyramids,” Jennings says. “Matt Chamberlain is on the drums and Jeff Fielder is on bass. I wrote this song early one morning at our lake house in Minnesota while my 6 month old son was in his swing. I woke up feeling that age old fear and started strumming and the words flowed out: “fear is wrong, fear is wrong again, life goes on like nothing’s happening”. A lyric I needed to hear and still do today. I think this is Stone’s favorite song on the album and it is one of mine too.”

Jennings and Gossard are ongoing collaborators in the band Painted Shield, who released their 2021 debut album on Loosegroove. Jennings even enlisted his bandmates from Painted Shield to help record Underneath the Roses.