Boston Indie Darlings The Grownup Noise Release Their 'No Straight Line in the Universe' Album

After nearly two decades of friendship, detours, and lived experience, The Grownup Noise releases their long-awaited sixth studio album, No Straight Line in the Universe, out today. Recorded by the band’s original lineup for the first time in over a decade, the album captures a group of lifelong collaborators reconnecting not only with one another, but with the deeper reasons they began making music in the first place.

The record arrives following a trio of singles that trace its emotional arc: “We Became Roses,” a meditation on middle age and endurance; “See You in the Hall,” a reckoning with the people who shaped us long before we knew who we were; and “Change Your Mind,” a present-tense reflection on vulnerability, persuasion, and the courage required to grow. Together, the songs form a portrait of adulthood that is neither nostalgic nor resigned — but honest, curious, and quietly defiant.

The creative process behind No Straight Line in the Universe began not with ambition, but with reconnection. When cellist and vocalist Katie Franich moved back to Boston, bassist Adam Sankowski soon followed. Songwriter Paul Hansen reached out with what he describes as “a long, rambling, over-emotional message,” suggesting the three start meeting once a week — no pressure, no agenda. “I didn’t want this to be about putting something out into the world,” Hansen says. “I just wanted to hang out, have a drink, maybe play an old song or two, and enjoy what we had years ago.”

As weeks turned into months, new material began to emerge naturally. “At a certain point, we realized we weren’t just revisiting the past,” Hansen explains. “We were writing again.” When drummer Kyle Crane — now based in Los Angeles — committed to flying back to track the album, the reunion fully clicked into place. “Once Kyle said yes, everything felt real,” Hansen says. “The energy changed immediately.”

For Hansen, having Adam and Katie back in the room reignited a creative momentum that pushed him to complete a full album for the first time in years. But No Straight Line in the Universe is less about revival than acceptance. “I’m 50, the band never broke into the big time, and I’m not stopping,” Hansen reflects. “I can’t. This is how I breathe. It’s what keeps me grounded — not just as a musician, but as a person.”

That philosophy anchors the album. The songs move fluidly through themes of friendship, aging, grief, stubbornness, and grace — embracing the idea that growth is rarely clean or linear. One of the album’s most powerful moments draws from Hansen’s family history: a poem written by his great-grandmother, Blanch Marie, the only known artist in his lineage. She died young, in childbirth, but left behind poetry, songs, and rejection letters from publishers she contacted while trying to share her work. Setting her words to music became a profound act of continuity. “Knowing there was an artist before me — someone who tried, who didn’t stop — changed the way I thought about everything,” Hansen says.

Recorded with the reunited lineup — Paul Hansen (guitar, vocals), Katie Franich (cello, vocals), Adam Sankowski (bass, vocals), and Kyle Crane (drums) — No Straight Line in the Universe feels like a conversation between old friends who have lived enough life to finally say what they mean. The band’s signature cinematic indie-rock sound remains intact, but it’s sharpened here by perspective, restraint, and emotional clarity.

In celebration of the album’s release, The Grownup Noise will perform a hometown release show on February 7, 2026 at Deep Cuts, bringing the full emotional scope of the record to the stage one night after its official arrival.

Formed in Boston in 2005, The Grownup Noise have long been known for their literate songwriting and quietly expansive sound. Their music has appeared on NPR, MTV, Netflix, and in award-winning independent films, and their touring history includes stages shared with Counting Crows, Aimee Mann, Tommy Stinson (The Replacements), and Patton Oswalt. With No Straight Line in the Universe, the band delivers their most fully realized statement yet — a record shaped by time, patience, and the understanding that the path forward is rarely straight.

“If this album has a thesis,” Hansen says, “it’s that you don’t get to choose the shape of your life — only whether you stay open inside it. These songs are what happened when we did.”