Anxious to relive the genuine occasions that were your prepubescent birthday parties? Disappointed that once you get past a certain age, people aren’t as inclined to wear party hats and bake enormous cakes perfect for celebratory group chocolate diving? The only friend you need in this world is JR Robinson, because once that bond is secured, you can be sure that dozens of his artistic friends and acquaintances will be dragged in tow to whatever event initially proposed for just the two of you. The birthday pizzas won’t go uneaten, and maybe if you’re nice about it, Robinson and his spontaneously assembled Wrekmeister Harmonies crew will cap the mortal day off with a stomach-rumbling drone performance. It’s all about nurturing those existential crises now.
And further on the existential front, the new Wrekmeister album Light Falls has as an influence in If This is Man, the book from Auschwitz survivor Primo Levi. Levi supposedly describes in the book the subtle societal transition that gives way to “inhumanity,” and on that front, Robinson sought to create a musical analog:
I wanted to sonically convey the idea of slow, creeping change. When I came up with the title I was thinking of how when daylight turns to night time it’s a very gradual process. You are lulled into watching this slow, peaceful sunset but then all of a sudden you look up and it’s dark.
Light Falls is out September 16 on Thrill Jockey, and in accordance with JR’s habitual ability to recruit all kinds of artist contributions, it features Godspeed You! Black Emperor members Thierry Amar on bass/contrabass; Sophie Trudeau on piano, violin, and vocals; and Timothy Herzog on drums. Check the plethora of tour dates after the tour trailer and album tracklisting. Marissa Nadler’s continual support comes post-collaboration.
Light Falls tracklisting:
01. Light Falls I - The Mantra
02. Light Falls II - The Light Burns Us All
03. Light Falls III - Light Sick
04. The Gathering
05. Where Have You Been My Lovely Son
06. Some Were Saved Some Drowned
07. My Lovely Son Reprise
Dates (all w/ Marissa Nadler):
07.05.16 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
07.06.16 - Boise, ID - Neurolux
07.08.16 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court
07.09.16 - Denver, CO - Lost Lake Lounge
07.10.16 - Omaha, NE - Reverb Lounge
07.11.16 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry
07.12.16 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
07.13.16 - Detroit, MI - El Club
07.14.16 - Toronto, ON - The Drake Hotel
07.15.16 - Montreal, QC - La Sala Rossa
07.16.16 - Hudson, NY - Half Moon
07.19.16 - Boston, MA - Great Scott
07.20.16 - Providence, RI - Aurora
07.21.16 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
07.22.16 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s
07.24.16 - Washington, D.C. - DC9
07.25.16 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle Backstage
07.26.16 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl
07.27.16 - New Orleans, LA - Gasa Gasa
07.29.16 - Austin, TX - Sidewinder
07.30.16 - Dallas, TX - Dada
08.01.16 - Phoenix, AZ - Valley Bar
08.02.16 - San Diego, CA - Casbah
08.03.16 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo
08.04.16 - San Francisco, CA - The Chapel
08.05.16 - Big Sur, CA - Henry Miller Library
08.07.16 - Vancouver, CA - Cobalt
08.08.16 - Seattle, WA - Barboza