Tall Firs could easily be the name of a Christmas band consisting of a couple middle-aged guys in matching suits, one playing the piano and the other shaking jingle bells while trying to channel Frank Sinatra or Bing Crosby. They’d play shows in pharmacies and craft stores, places that break out their wreathes and colored lights well before Halloween.
As far as I know, that’s not how Aaron Mullan and Dave Mies roll. They’re the core duo of the actual Tall Firs, a folk rock band from Annapolis, and they’ve just been signed to ATP Recordings for their third album, Out of It and Into It, which will be out March 12 of next year. However, on November 28, just in time for visions of sugar plums and chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Tall Firs will release “Crooked Smiles,” the first single off their new album. The release coincides with the beginning of their tour with Thurston Moore, and it’ll be available as a digital download and a limited-edition 7-inch. In addition, ATP is inviting fans to help out with a music video for “Crooked Smiles.” They’re looking for off-stage footage from past ATP festivals, ideally edited to parts of the song (which can be streamed via SoundCloud). Send your footage to atprecordings@atpfestival.com, and if you’re not sure what to submit, Aaron Mullan has a few thoughts on his favorite parts of ATP:
One of my favorite things is watching people pile in on the first day. What’s better than seeing smiling girls in their first-day-of-ATP outfits, laughing with their crew, literally staggering under the weight of the beer they intend to pound right fucking now? It’s so optimistic I could lose my shit. And then later you see the same people 5 gigs and 1000 brews later staggering again, but now they’re alone in the dark and rain, still smiling in the midnight shadow of the Butlin’s tabernacle, searching for one more good time.
(P.S. Tall Firs will be playing Jeff Mangum’s ATP in March.)
Crooked Smiles 7-inch tracklisting:
A. Crooked Smiles
B. Highway 5
Tourdates:
11.27.11 - Dublin, Ireland - Button Factory
11.28.11 - Glasgow, UK - Arches
11.29.11 - Leeds, UK - Brudnell
11.30.11 - Manchester, UK - The Ritz
12.02.11 - London, UK - Union Chapel
12.03.11 - London, UK - Electric Ballroom
12.05.11 - Berlin, Germany - Volksbuhne
12.06.11 - Munich, Germany - Kammerspiele
12.07.11 - Ferrara, Italy - Teatro Communale
12.08.11 - Roma, Italy - Parco della Musica
12.09.11 - Milano, Italy - Teatro dal Verme
• Tall Firs: http://tallfirs.org
• ATP Recordings: http://www.atpfestival.com/recordings.php
[Photo: Noah Wall]
