The transition from the high school basements of Exit to the professional grit of Gargoyle Productions in Holyoke, MA, is captured in this first batch of songs. After years apart, Jim Smola reunited with Aaron Muller and Joshua David Thayer, bringing in multi-instrumentalist Dave Trenholm to anchor the project on drums—a new role for Trenholm that would help define the band’s rhythmic identity.
A New World Around The Bend established the HTS blueprint: literate, roots-heavy rock born from the collaborative chemistry of long-time friends. These sessions, captured by Marc Rubin, remain the definitive origin point for the Hadley Transfer Station catalog.