Sigh. You know how it is when you’re in a SUPERGROUP like The New Pornographers: you make a thing, then you tour it a bit (maybe!), then you disband for several years because all of the individual members have shit going on and cool urban children to neglectfully raise and spiritual goals to pursue and various drugs to do… then you shamble back together (mostly via Gmail at first) and kick a few demo ideas around on the internet, eventually culminating some four years later with a new album that you tell yourself is full of “the best artistic compromises possible,” and the whole crazy cycle just starts again from there!
Oh wait, you don’t know how that is at all??? Er. Right. Me neither. In that case: The New Pornographers’ (a supergroup) newest album, Brill Bruisers, will be released August 26 via Matador. It is indeed the first new album in four years from songwriter A.C. Newman… and Neko Case and Dan Bejar… er, and Blaine Thurier and John Collins and Kathryn Calder and Kurt Dahle and Todd Fancey… a truly SUPER group of people! You can check out the art above and title track below. Super!
But in case you’d rather listen to people talk about what the album sounds like than simply listen to what the album sounds like: “This is a celebration record,” Newman says. “After periods of difficulty, I am at a place where nothing in my life is dragging me down and the music reflects that.” How nice! The thing was produced by Collins and Newman and was recorded “primarily at Little Blue in Woodstock, NY and at JC/DC Studios in Vancouver B.C. with additional recording in Austin, Brooklyn and Vermont,” which sounds pretty fittingly all-over-the-map (literally) and supergroupy.
ALSO: in addition to all of the usual rigmarole, the album will also see release as a super-duper “limited edition multi-colored ‘paint splattered’ vinyl” (which you can pre-order at their site) and some accompanying 3D artwork and glasses. ALSO, ALSO: there’s gonna be a supernice supersized tour once the thing drops. The cycle perpetuates.
Brill Bruisers tracklisting:
01. Brill Bruisers
02. Champions of Red Wine
03. Fantasy Fools
04. War on the East Coast
05. Backstairs
06. Marching Orders
07. Another Drug Deal of the Heart
08. Born with a Sound
09. Wide Eyes
10. Dancehall Domine
11. Spidyr
12. Hi-Rise
13. You Tell Me Where
Tour dates:
07.18-20.14 - Pemberton, BC - Pemberton Music Festival
08.29-31.14 - Edmonton, AB - Sonic Boom Festival
09.06.14 - Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre
09.06-07.14 - Toronto, ON - Riot Fest
10.05-06.14 - Seattle, WA - The Showbox *
10.08.14 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom *
10.09.14 - Boise, ID - Knitting Factory *
10.10.14 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot *
10.11.14 - Denver, CO - Gothic Theatre *
10.13.14 - Phoenix, AZ - The Crescent Ballroom *
10.14.14 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre *
10.15.14 - Pioneertown, CA - Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace *
10.17.14 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern *
10.18.14 - San Diego, CA - North Park Theatre *
11.04.14 - Nashville, TN - Cannery Ballroom *
11.05.14 - Asheville, NC - Orange Peel *
11.06.14 - Atlanta, GA - Buckhead Theatre *
11.07.14 - New Orleans, LA - Civic Theatre *
11.07-09.14 - Austin, TX - Fun Fun Fun Fest
11.10.14 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant *
11.11.14 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown *
11.13.14 - Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater *
11.14.14 - Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre *
11.15.14 - Cleveland, OH - House of Blues *
11.17.14 - New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom *
11.19.14 - Boston, MA - House of Blues *
11.20.14 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer *
11.21.14 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club *
11.23.14 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle *
* The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
• The New Pornographers: http://www.thenewpornographers.com
• Matador: http://www.matadorrecords.com