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New William Tyler session at The Line of Best Fit & summer tour in progress

June 17, 2013 – 11:32 am

On his recent European tour, William Tyler visited The Line of Best Fit who have posted his performance of “Cadillac Desert” today. Also, William will be on tour all summer including another visit to Europe.

In the introduction to William’s session, The Line of Best Fit wrote, “[Impossible Truth]‘s romanticised vision of a post-Carter era USA conveyed through Tyler’s incredible guitar work gave us one of this year’s most impressive releases – as well as propelling him right to the top of our sessions schedule.”

Watch William Tyler perform “Cadillac Desert” for The Line of Best Fit

NPR’s Bob Boilen included “Cadillac Desert” on a recent episode of All Songs Considered in which he deems William the “most intriguing guitar player I know.” The L.A. Times describes Impossible Truth as “impossibly beautiful,” while the Chicago Reader writes, “[Tyler's] beautifully ringing, carefully orchestrated playing transcends mere virtuosity to evoke a vivid self-contained narrative.”

SPIN & Paste included William in their “Must See” Bonnaroo preview coverage, too!

Recorded and mixed at Beech House in his hometown of Nashville and co-produced by William Tyler and Mark Nevers, Impossible Truth features guest appearances from Chris Scruggs, Luke Schneider, Roy Agee, and Lambchop compatriot Scott Martin. 2010′s Behold the Spirit, William Tyler’s first album under his own name, was celebrated by Pitchfork as “the most vital, energized album by an American solo guitarist in a decade or more” and established him as a critical favorite.

Watch this lovely album teaser video for a glimpse of the story behind the songs of Impossible Truth. Also, watch video from William’s recent visit to WNYC’s Soundcheck.

Impossible Truth is available now on CD, LP and digital in the Merge store.

William Tyler on tour:
Jun 20 Birmingham, Al — The Bottletree
Jul 19 Columbus, OH — Ace of Cups
Jul 20 St. Louis, MO — FOAM
Jul 21 Omaha, NE — The Waiting Room
Jul 23 Boulder, CO — Fox Theater
Jul 24 Salt Lake City, UT — Kilby Court
Jul 25 Boise, ID — Visual Arts Collective
Jul 26 Seattle, WA — Capitol Hill Block Party Vera Stage
Jul 27 Portland, OR — Mississippi Studios
Jul 29 Eureka, CA — Palm Lounge
Jul 30 San Francisco, CA — Rickshaw Stop *
Jul 31 Monterey, CA — Golden State Theatre Lobby
Aug 1 Santa Cruz, CA — Catalyst Club
Aug 2 Los Angeles, CA — The Echo *
Aug 3 San Diego, CA — Casbah *
Aug 4 Phoenix, AZ — Rhythm Room *
Aug 5 El Paso, TX — Lowbrow Palace
Aug 7 Austin, TX — Mohawk Inside
Aug 8 Dallas, TX — Bryan Street Tavern
Aug 9 Oxford, MS — Lamar Lounge
Aug 21 Bloomington, IN — The Bishop
Aug 22 Louisville, KY — Zanzabar
Aug 24 Cincinnati, OH — Motr Pub
Aug 29 Utrecht, NL — Ekko
Aug 30 North Dorset, UK — End of the Road Festival
Sep 2 London, UK — St. Pancras Old Church
Sep 3 Lisbon, PT — Music Box
Sep 4 Ourense, ES — Cafe Pop Torgal
Sep 5 Santiago de Compostela, ES Teatro Principal
Sep 6 San Sebasian, ES Kutxa Kultur Festibala
Sep 8 Barcelona, ES Sala Be Cool
Sep 15 Amsterdam, NL Paradiso
* w/ Daughn Gibson

Also posted in William Tyler

The Music Tapes announce new Traveling Imaginary dates & European release of Mary’s Voice

June 17, 2013 – 11:00 am

The Music Tapes are bringing The Traveling Imaginary to Europe! Also, the Music Tapes trio will tour Europe this summer in support of the European release of Mary’s Voice on July 1.

As soon as audiences walk through the door, they will be greeted with The Music Tapes’ surreal, carnival-esque games before entering the tent for a dreamlike show that includes songs from the band’s newest album Mary’s Voice which Pitchfork described as “a grand, genre-straddling vision in sound.” The evening’s entertainment also antique 16mm cartoons, virtuoso Klezmer music performed on the singing saw, Julian Koster’s unique narratives about dehydrated European cities and half-imagined children’s games.

The Music Tapes have a long history of hosting surreal tours since first emerging as part of the influential Elephant 6 Collective – including the annual Caroling and Lullaby tours that have brought them into over 500 homes across the country.

Watch the official trailer for The Traveling Imaginary

Mary’s Voice is available on CD, limited-edition pop-up LP and digital now in the Merge store.

The Music Tapes on tour:
Jun 22 Glasgow, UK  Nice N Sleazy
Jun 23 Perth, UK  Solas Festival
Jun 25 Aberdeen, UK  The Tunnels
Jun 26 Inverness, UK  Hootananny
Jun 27 Edinburgh, UK  Voodoo Rooms
Jun 28 Manchester, UK  The Deaf Institute
Jun 29  Cardiff, UK  Clwb Ifor Bach
Jun 30 Brighton, UK  The Blind Tiger
Jul 2 Poitiers, FR Le Confort Moderne
Jul 3 Toulous, FR  Theatre Garonne
Jul 4 Paris, FR Espace B
Jul 5 London, UK  The Lexington
Jul 12 Cork, IRL Cyprus Avenue
Jul 13 Galway, IRL Róisín Dubh
Jul 14 Dublin, IRL Workman’s Club

Also posted in the music tapes

Enter to win a test pressing of The Mountain Goats “All Hail West Texas”

June 14, 2013 – 12:12 pm

The Mountain Goats will reissue All Hail West Texas on CD, LP and digital in the US on July 23 and in Europe on August 6. To celebrate the first-ever vinyl release of All Hail West Texas, we are giving away a test pressing of the remastered album.

To enter, pre-order All Hail West Texas on CD or LP in the Merge store, or email ahwt@mergerecords.com and provide your name and address in the body of the message. Everyone who has already pre-ordered the album in the Merge store will be entered into the drawing automatically, so please do not enter again via email. Only one entry will be accepted per person or email address; multiple entries will be disqualified. All entries must be received by noon EDT on Monday, July 15. The winner of the test pressing will be contacted before the July 23 US release date.

Remastered from the original 1/4” reels and expanded to include seven unearthed songs from the two surviving contemporaneous cassettes, the reissue of All Hail West Texas stands as the peak of the Mountain Goats’ home-recording era, a time people like to refer to as “when John Darnielle had his four-track,” except John did not actually use a four-track. He used the condenser mic of a Panasonic boombox and there was no overdubbing. All songs were recorded on the day they were written, usually within minutes of the actual composition. Highlights include “Jenny,” “Fall of the Star High School Running Back,” and “The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton,” a song that has compelled audiences around the globe to yell “Hail Satan,” and to mean it.

Package art features a newly penned 1,800-word essay by John detailing his songwriting and recording process for the album. The LP is packaged in a deluxe gatefold jacket and includes a digital download of the full record plus the seven additional tracks. The CD, which includes the full album and extra tracks on one disc, comes in a premium digipak with a 12-page booklet.

Pre-order All Hail West Texas now on CD and LP. Follow the Mountain Goats on Twitter and keep up with John Darnielle on Tumblr. See John and Peter on an all-ages duo tour now in progress!

The Mountain Goats on tour:
* – w/ The Baptist Generals
# – w/ Alessi’s Ark
June 14 Cincinnati, OH Taft Ballroom*
June 15 Bloomington, IN Buskirk-Chumley Theatre*
June 16 Evanston, IL Space*
June 17 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall*
June 19 Kansas City, MO The Record Bar*
June 20 St. Louis, MO Old Rock House*
June 22 Birmingham, AL The Bottletree*
June 23 Gainesville, FL High Dive*
June 24 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Culture Room*
June 26 Charleston, SC The Charleston Pourhouse *
June 27 West Columbia, SC New Brookland Tavern*
June 28 Wilmington, NC The Soapbox *
July 06 Durham, NC Festival for the Eno
July 26-28 Newport, RI Newport Folk Festival
July 28 Asheville, NC Bele Chere Festival
Sept 13-16 Miami, FL Atlantic Ocean Comedy and Music Festival
Oct 7 Bristol, UK St. Georges #
Oct 8 London, UK Union Chapel #
Oct 9 Manchester, UK Royal Northern College of Music #
Oct 10 Glasgow, UK Arches #
Oct 12 Gent, Belgium Handelsbeurs #
Oct 13 Amsterdam, Netherlands People’s Place #
Oct 14 Cologne, Germany Luxor #
Oct 16 Paris, France La Gaite Lyrique #
Oct 18 Madrid, Spain Teatre Conde Duque #
Oct 19 Barcelona, Spain Caprichos de Apolo #

Also posted in The Mountain Goats

She & Him perform on Conan tonight!

June 13, 2013 – 4:25 pm

She & Him will perform “I Could’ve Been Your Girl” from their newly released album Volume 3 tonight on Conan! Tune in live beginning at 11 PM ET on TBS or set your DVR.

The duo will be hitting the road for a month-long tour this summer that kicks off at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville tonight. The tour also includes a headlining show at the legendary Hollywood Bowl on June 23 as well two evenings at New York City’s Central Park SummerStage in July. Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell and Camera Obscura provide support on select dates.

What the She & Him band’s performance of “I’ve Got Your Number, Son” on The Tonight Show last week. Also, watch the new video for “I Could’ve Been Your Girl,” which is Zooey Deschanel’s directorial debut!

She & Him’s Volume 3 is available on CD, LP, and now cassette in the Merge store, the band’s online store, and at your local record store. If you buy Volume 3 in the Merge store, you get an awesome nail decal set (photo below) for free! Just enter “NAILS” into the coupon code. Also, find Volume 3 at iTunes, Amazon, Target, Barnes & Noble, and Best Buy.

She & Him on tour:
Jun 13 Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium+
Jun 15 Grand Prairie, TX – Verizon Theater at Grand Prairie+
Jun 16 Austin, TX – ACL Live at the Moody Theatre+
Jun 18 Phoenix, AZ – Comerica Theater+
Jun 19 Las Vegas, NV – The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas%
Jun 21 San Diego, CA – SDSU Open Air Theatre%
Jun 22 Berkeley, CA – Greek Theatre*%
Jun 23 Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl*
Jun 25 Salt Lake City, UT – Red Butte Gardens%
Jun 27 Council Bluffs, IA – Harrah’s Stir Cove%
Jun 28 Kansas City, MO – Kanrocksas Music Festival
Jun 29 Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom#
Jul 01 Ann Arbor, MI – Hill Auditorium#
Jul 03 Montreal, QC – Montreal Jazz Festival#
Jul 04 Toronto, ON – Toronto Urban Roots Festival#
Jul 05 Ottawa, ON – Ottawa Blues Fest
Jul 06 New York, NY – SummerStage at Central Park#
Jul 08 New York, NY – SummerStage at Central Park#
Jul 09 Philadelphia, PA – Mann Center for Performing Arts#
Jul 10 Boston, MA – Bank of America Pavilion#
Jul 11 Vienna, VA – Filene Center at Wolf Trap#
+ w/ Secret Sisters
* w/ Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell
# w/ Camera Obscura
% w/ Tilly and the Wall

Also posted in she & him

Listen to the new remix of Shout Out Louds’ “14th of July” by Jens Lekman

June 13, 2013 – 2:01 pm

Shout Out Louds‘ “14th of July” from their latest album Optica has received the remix treatment from fellow Swedish musician Jens Lekman.

In their track premiere, The Line of Best Fit wrote, “Glimmering with neatly arranged string samples and percussive vocal stabs, Jens ignites the track with a new sense of playfulness – all done with a wry smile and a tip of the hat to the magpie-esque Lekman of yesteryear, when his tracks were predominantly built around other people’s music.”

Listen & share Jen Lekman’s remix of Shout Out Louds’ “14th of July”

Also, watch Shout Out Louds’ recent performance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Hear audio from Shout Out Louds recent visit to KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic in LA and KEXP in Seattle.

Watch Shout Out Louds’ recently released video for “Illusions” , too.

Optica is available on CD, LP and digital now in the Merge store, and find a full list of Shout Out Louds’ ongoing tour dates at their website.

 

Also posted in Shout Out Louds

Imperial Teen celebrate European release of “Feel the Sound” with new video & UK tour dates

June 12, 2013 – 2:20 pm

Imperial Teen‘s Feel the Sound is now on CD, LP and digital via Merge Records in the UK and Europe. Will, Jone, Lynn & Roddy will play a couple of shows in England beginning this weekend, and have just released a beautiful new video for “No Matter What You Say” starring Emily Browning.

Watch the video for Imperial Teen’s “No Matter What You Say” now at YouTube

Like the sharpest pop music, Feel the Sound gets you to keep coming back for more, but unlike so much music today, it rewards you for doing so, giving you the experience of a fulfilled and yet still yearning, lively potential, one that will be further realized when the songs are performed live. SPIN deemed Imperial Teen, “eternally joyous indie-pop savants” while Magnet described Feel the Sound as “an LP full of energy and warmth, and the group’s symphonic pop sound is still as fresh as its debut in the ’90s.”

Feel the Sound is available now on CD, LP, and digital download in the Merge store.

Imperial Teen on tour:
June 16 Isle of Wight, UK Isle of Wight Festival
June 18 London, UK Scala

Also posted in Imperial Teen

Listen to “Pilot Light” from The Love Language’s Ruby Red

June 12, 2013 – 11:28 am

The Love Language will release Ruby Red on July 23. The band premiered a new track, “Pilot Light,” via Nylon Guys.

In their track premiere of “Pilot Light,” Nylon Guys wrote, “This track feels as big as a Beatles Abbey Road era jam mixed with the happy melancholia of a Poses era Rufus Wainwright, and the demo time spent in that Black Mountain bungalow really shows.”

Listen & share “Pilot Light” now via SoundCloud

If you haven’t yet, check out “Calm Down”, the first single from Ruby Red. In their track premiere, Pitchfork wrote: “The tune’s anthemic in a small-room way, with some murky guitars, glockenspiels, and a jammy back half to suggest that the Love Language’s sound is still expanding.” Stereogum described the song as “a lush but driven piece of songcraft, one that bursts with harmonies and pianos but doesn’t OD on twee adrenaline.”

Gone are the days of a Love Language as a selfish salve for perpetual heartbreak. Ruby Red produces new standards for the Carolina pop songbook, finding The Love Language as an extroverted community art project made by responsible citizens of a loosely packed scene who know that Stuart McLamb will match whatever they contribute.

Pre-order Ruby Red now on CD or LP in the Merge store. The first 250 preorders will receive a free, limited-edition 11-track cassette titled Black Mountain Demos. All preorders will include a poster and will ship to arrive on or around the release date of July 23. In the meantime, keep up with The Love Language on Twitter and Facebook.

The Love Language on tour:
July 26 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle #*
July 27 Washington, DC Rock and Roll Hotel #
July 28 Philadelphia, PA  Johnny Brenda’s #
July 30 Allston, MA Great Scott #
July 31 New York, NY Mercury Lounge #
Aug 01 Brooklyn, NY Glasslands Gallery #
Aug 02 Richmond, VA Strange Matter #
Aug 03 Charlottesville, VA Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar #
Sep 05 Portland, OR MusicFest NW
Sep 6 Eugene, OR Cozmic Pizza %
Sep 08 Seattle, WA Neumos %
# = Eternal Summers
* = The Critters
% = The Dodos

 

 

Also posted in the love language

King Khan & the Shrines share new song & announce tour

June 10, 2013 – 5:01 pm

King Khan & the Shrines have announced tour dates in support of Idle No More, their Merge debut. They have also shared the album’s opening track, “Born to Die” today via Stereogum.

Often called the “wildest show on earth” and simply one of the most entertaining groups the world has seen and heard since the days of Ike + Tina, King Khan & The Shrines are bringing their psychedelic soul and spectacle of a stage show to a city near you in support of new album, Idle No More, out September 3rd. Imagine Roky Erickson backed by the Sun Ra Arkestra or Wilson Pickett and The Velvet Underground, or picture the love child of Anubis and Kali, and you’ll merely have a hint of the cult musical phenomenon that is King Khan & The Shrines.

Idle No More is full of sweat-drenched, ass shaking, groovy, psyched-out numbers, complete with rip roaring horn lines, southern fried guitar riffs and lysergic melodies. With songs about the state of the world we live in today and named after an indigenous-rights movement, it’s probably the most refined piece of music King Khan & The Shrines have made to date.

Listen & share to the album’s opening track “Born to Die,” which King Khan says is “an apocalyptic ode to the heinous war machine that to this day ruins our lives.” Serious subject matter, oftentimes uplifting, lays within the soul-infused rock and velvety pop that is Idle No More.

Pre-order Idle No More now on CD or LP in the Merge store.

King Khan & the Shrines on tour:
Aug 28 Luxembourg, Luxembourg Exit 07
Aug 29 Haarlem, Neterlands Dutch Garage Rock Explosion @ Patronaat
Aug 30 Salisbury, UK End of the Road Festival
Sep 01 London, UK XOYO
Sep 04 Paris, FR Trabendo
Sep 05 Brussels, Belgium Magasin 4
Sep 06 Vlieland, Netherlands Great Wide Open Festival
Oct 11 San Diego, CA Casbah
Oct 12 Los Angeles, CA Culture Collide Festival
Oct 13 San Francisco, CA Slims
Oct 14 Portland, OR Dantes
Oct 15 Vancouver, BC The Rickshaw Theatre
Oct 16 Seattle, WA Neumos
Oct 17 Boise, ID Neurolux
Oct 18 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge
Oct 19 Denver, CO Larimer Lounge
Oct 20 Kansas City, KS The Record Bar
Oct 21 St. Paul, MN Turf Club
Oct 22 Madison, WI High Noon Saloon
Oct 23 Chicago, IL Bottom Lounge
Oct 24 Cleveland Heights, OH Grog Shop
Oct 25 Detroit, MI Magic Stick
Oct 26 Toronto, ON Legendary Horseshoe Tavern
Oct 27 Montreal, QC La Tulipe
Oct 29 Boston, MA Brighton Music Hall
Oct 30 New York, NY Webster Hall
Oct 31 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer
Nov 1 Washington, DC Black Cat
Nov 2 Durham, NC Motorco Music Hall
Nov 4 Atlanta, GA Terminal West
Nov 5 Birmingham, AL Bottletree
Nov 6 New Orleans, LA Siberia
Nov 12 El Paso, TX Tricky Falls
Nov 13 Phoenix, AZ The Crescent Ballroom

Also posted in King Khan and the Shrines

Richard Buckner to release Surrounded on September 3

June 10, 2013 – 11:10 am

Richard Buckner‘s new album Surrounded will be released on CD, LP and digital in the US and Europe on September 3.

In the time since Our Blood was released and after a few long tours, Richard Buckner attempted to work on writing short stories but found himself drawn back into the music room. The evidence of his time in the writer’s chair is clear in the dense, lovely prose of Surrounded. The album’s liner notes include text-embedded lyrics, a technique Buckner employed on his earlier albums Since and Impasse, but this marks the first time he used the songs’ extended story to construct the album’s overall view and track sequence.

Throwing out the “tricks and trades” of his previous efforts, Buckner hunkered down at home and chose a few unfamiliar pieces of gear—a Suzuki QChord electronic autoharp and an Electro-Harmonix POG2 pedal—to create basic tracks and open up more sonic possibilities. “The best outcomes happen sometimes when I’m unfamiliar with the tool that I’m using (imagine MacGyver wearing a dog cone).”

The now-infamous process of recording and re-recording Our Blood left him a bit gun-shy, so this time, Buckner decided to get each song out of his house as soon as it was finished to avoid the contamination of over-thinking. After hearing an interview with famed producer Tucker Martine, Buckner found a destination for his songs: “Tucker understood the urgency in me to tie the whole thing up before I fell into the same trap that I’d had finishing Our Blood and was generous enough to move other commitments around to fit Surrounded in. When I had finally finished Our Blood, I felt like I’d just survived a stroll through a mine field. With Surrounded, it was more of a sensation that I’d successfully organized a messy desk.”

Pre-order Surrounded now on CD and LP in the Merge store. Richard Buckner will announce tour dates soon, but in the meantime keep up with him on Twitter.

Surrounded track listing:
1. Surrounded
2. When You Tell Me How It Is
3. Beautiful Question
4. Foundation
5. Portrait
6. Mood
7. Go
8. Cut
9. Lean-To

Also posted in Richard Buckner

Watch Radar Brothers new video & see them on tour!

June 6, 2013 – 9:50 am

Radar Brothers are hitting the road once again in support of their recent release Eight. Beginning in Los Angeles on June 12 at the Satellite, the Bros will head north and then east with Ola Podrida supporting on most of the dates. The band premiered their new video for “If We Were Banished” via Buzzbands LA.

Of the video, Buzzbands LA wrote, “You’ve been on those long drives where it feels as if the car is actually being propelled by the stereo and not an internal combustion engine, right? So it is with the seen-better-days Honda in director Steve Hanft’s video for the Radar Brothers’ ‘If We Were Banished.’ Inspired or inhabited by the song, the car takes matters into its own hands … er, gears … and treks from Death Valley to a happy ending at sunset at Zuma Beach.”

Watch the video for Radar Brothers’ “If We Were Banished” now at YouTube

Radar Brothers released Eight in January to much acclaim including the L.A. Times who declared that the band “have never sounded this inspired” and Magnet Magazine named the album their “most intriguing, compelling work yet.”

Strictly limited to 1000 LPs worldwide, the vinyl albums include a CD. Eight is available now on LP and digital download in the Merge store.

Radar Brothers on tour:
* = w/ Ola Podrida
June 12 Los Angeles, CA The Satellite*
June 13 San Francisco, CA Cafe du Nord*
June 14 Davis, CA Sophia’s Thai Kitchen*
June 16 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge*
June 17 Seattle, WA Tractor Tavern*
June 18 Boise, ID Neurolux*
June 20 Englewood, CO Moe’s Denver*
June 23 Austin, TX The Mohawk*
June 25 Phoenix, AZ The Crescent Ballroom
June 26 Tucson, AZ Club Congress

Also posted in radar bros

The Love Language announce first tour dates in support of “Ruby Red”

June 5, 2013 – 3:27 pm

The Love Language will release Ruby Red on July 23. Today, Stuart & co have announced the beginning dates of their tour in support of the album. A list of dates is below with more to come!

We recently shared “Calm Down” from Ruby Red. In their track premiere, Pitchfork wrote: “The tune’s anthemic in a small-room way, with some murky guitars, glockenspiels, and a jammy back half to suggest that the Love Language’s sound is still expanding.” Stereogum described the song as “a lush but driven piece of songcraft, one that bursts with harmonies and pianos but doesn’t OD on twee adrenaline.”

Gone are the days of a Love Language as a selfish salve for perpetual heartbreak. Ruby Red produces new standards for the Carolina pop songbook, finding The Love Language as an extroverted community art project made by responsible citizens of a loosely packed scene who know that Stuart McLamb will match whatever they contribute.

Pre-order Ruby Red now on CD or LP in the Merge store. The first 250 preorders will receive a free, limited-edition 11-track cassette titled Black Mountain Demos. All preorders will include a poster and will ship to arrive on or around the release date of July 23. In the meantime, keep up with The Love Language on Twitter and Facebook.

The Love Language on tour:
July 26 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle #*
July 27 Washington, DC Rock and Roll Hotel #
July 28 Philadelphia, PA  Johnny Brenda’s #
July 30 Allston, MA Great Scott #
July 31 New York, NY Mercury Lounge #
Aug 01 Brooklyn, NY Glasslands Gallery #
Aug 02 Richmond, VA Strange Matter #
Aug 03 Charlottesville, VA Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar #
Sep 05 Portland, OR MusicFest NW
Sep 6 Eugene, OR Cozmic Pizza %
Sep 08 Seattle, WA Neumos %
# = Eternal Summers
* = The Critters
% = The Dodos

Also posted in the love language

Listen to “FOH” from Superchunk’s “I Hate Music” now

June 5, 2013 – 11:35 am

Superchunk will release I Hate Music, their tenth studio album, on August 20. The band has also announced tour dates throughout the late summer and fall. NPR premiered “FOH” via their All Songs 24/7 live stream and included the track in the latest episode of the All Songs Considered Podcast.

Listen & share “FOH” from I Hate Music now via SoundCloud and YouTube

After taking nearly a decade off following the release of Here’s to Shutting Up, Mac, Laura, Jon, and Jim decided to shout it out again in 2010 with Majesty Shredding, an album perfectly described by its own title. It’s a celebratory set of whoa-whoa-whoas from a group so thrilled by making music together again that they can’t contain themselves.

I Hate Music is an album about love more than anything else: love of life, love of living, love of people, and yeah, love of music. It defies its own title so completely and diligently that it never even seems like a fair fight: There’s no pain this deep or yearning this severe without the type of love earned over a lifetime. “I hate music – what is it worth? / Can’t bring anyone back to this earth” goes the first line in “Me & You & Jackie Mittoo.” That song and its ten companions can’t relive the past or resurrect those lost, but they can keep them close enough to see and hear and celebrate. It’s dark in here, but if we conjure the right words and sounds, maybe we’ll find our way out.

Watch the album trailer for I Hate Music now

Pre-order Superchunk’s I Hate Music on CD, LP, deluxe LP, and digital. The limited-edition deluxe LP will be pressed on colored vinyl and include a bonus 7-inch containing two non-album tracks, along with an I Hate Music stencil. Both the standard and deluxe LPs will be issued on 150-gram vinyl and feature a die-cut sleeve.

All pre-orders will come with an I Hate Music poster, the first 200 of which will be signed by the band.

Superchunk on tour:
(visit Superchunk.com for a special announcement from Laura regarding the band’s upcoming tour)
Jun 07 Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506 (Mac solo) w/ The Bats
Jun 20 Calgary, AB – Sled Island @ Republik
Aug 22 Atlanta, GA – Terminal West^
Aug 23 Asheville, NC – The Grey Eagle^
Aug 24 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle^
Sep 02 Seattle, WA – Bumbershoot
Sep 03 San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore w/ Mikal Cronin
Sep 04 Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre w/ Colleen Green
Sep 06 Portland, OR – MusicFestNW @ Crystal Ballroom
Sep 07 Chicago, IL – A.V. Fest and Hideout Block Party
Sep 23 Charlottesville, VA – Jefferson Theater#
Sep 24 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer#
Sep 26 Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club#
Sep 27 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom#
Sep 28 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom#
Sep 29 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club#
# w/ Spider Bags
^ w/ Parting Gifts

Also posted in Superchunk