Assertion‘s sophomore full-length album Basking in the Gaslight is a raw and deeply personal document of survival, resilience, and emotional reckoning. Formed in the Pacific Northwest by drummer/vocalist William Goldsmith (Sunny Day Real Estate, The Fire Theft, Foo Fighters) and vocalist/guitarist Justin Tamminga, the band wrote and recorded the album through years of upheaval, including a traumatic brain injury, personal trauma, and the isolating weight of lockdown. The result channels pain into catharsis without ever feeling defeated. It’s heavy in both sound and subject matter, driven by unfiltered expression rather than concept, and shaped by a restless desire to heal, reconnect, and grow.
Stream Basking in The Gaslight HERE and purchase through Spartan Records.
The process of making the record was anything but simple. Recorded over multiple years, with songs tracked as they were written and gear constantly shifting, the production of Basking became its own journey. “There wasn’t an easy template,” says Goldsmith.
What emerged is a record that feels intensely alive, thick with atmosphere, catharsis, and pain. But it’s also rooted in connection and hope. “If you fall down, I’ll help you rise,” Tamminga offers on “Rise,” a track written as a message to their children and one of the heaviest, and most hopeful, songs on the album. “All the things that got me into relationships that pushed me to write an album like this… I’m trying to grow, be a better person, break old patterns,” Tamminga shares. “That’s the inspiration.”
With Basking in the Gaslight, Assertion hasn’t just made a powerful record, they’ve made something that bears witness to endurance. It’s not about perfection or polish. It’s about truth, scars and all.
