Last week, Kyle Thomas - aka King Tuff - released his first new song in four years, titled “The Other,” which NPR called a “meditative deliberation and mystic reflection.” Today, he’s excited to share that the song will be also be the lead track on his new album of the same name. The Other will be out on Sub Pop Records this April 13th, and is available for pre-order HERE NOW.
Today you can also hear the official first single from the album, “Psycho Star.” It is a prime representation of King Tuff’s soulful and cosmic new direction. You’re now listen to the song via the Cameron Dutra directed visuals above.
Thomas self-produced the record and brought in Shawn Everett (War On Drugs, Alabama Shakes) to assist with the mixing process. No less hooky than previous records, the new songs ditch the goofy rock-and-roll bacchanalia narratives of earlier records in favor of expansive arrangements, a diversity of instrumentation, and lyrics that straddle the fence between painful ruminations and reconnecting with that part of yourself that feels childlike and creative and not corroded by cynicism. The record features contributions from Ty Segall (drums), Jenny Lewis (vocals), Greta Morgan (vocals), and Mikal Cronin (saxophone).
Thomas views the entire experience of the record as a kind of psychic reset. “I let the songs lead me where they wanted to go, instead of trying to push them into a certain zone. King Tuff was always just supposed to be me. When I started doing this as a teenager, it was whatever I wanted it to be. King Tuff was never supposed to be just one thing. It was supposed to be everything.”
The Other tracklisting:
The Other
Raindrop Blue
Thru The Cracks
Psycho Star
Infinite Mile
Birds of Paradise
Circuits in the Sand
Ultraviolet
Neverending Sunshine
No Man’s Land
King Tuff on Tour
On top of all this good news, King Tuff has also announced a North American tour beginning May 3rd in San Diego. Cut Worms will open the shows, and all tickets go on sale this Friday, February 9th. Visit www.kingtuff.life for more updates.
May 3 - San Diego, CA - The Casbah *
May 4 - Phoenix, AZ - Valley Bar *
May 5 - Santa Fe, NM - Meow Wolf *
May 7 - Houston, TX - Rockefeller Hall *
May 8 - Austin, TX - Barracuda (outside) *
May 9 - Dallas, TX - Club Dada *
May 11 - New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jacks *
May 12 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl *
May 13 - Nashville TN - The Basement East *
May 14 - Lexington, KY - The Burl *
May 16 - Washington DC - Rock & Roll Hotel *
May 18 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg *
May 19 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church *
Ever wonder what really happens when a band goes on tour? In Frankie Cosmos’ new video for “Being Alive,” director Daniel Martin captures a mix of live performance and behind the scenes footage from the band’s 2016 & 2017 European tours. But, touring isn’t just endless massage trains in the van on your way to the next city, there’s much more. Whilst performing as tiny little marionettes, the band get abducted by an Irish Space Dog and get transported aboard his kennel space-ship. Watch this live action space odyssey now. (then playlist the living heck outta this track on Spotify or Apple Music.)
Vessel, the latest offering from NYC-based band Frankie Cosmos, is available worldwide on March 30th, via Sub Pop Records. This 18-track opus finds bandleader Greta Kline’s distinctive songwriting voice enriched by the musical sensibilities of her bandmates– bassist/vocalist David Maine, keyboardist/vocalist Lauren Martin and drummer Luke Pyenson, who each played a role shaping the sound of the new record.
Preorders for Vessel are available now through Sub Pop right here. LP preorders through megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers will receive the limited Loser edition on blue vinyl (while supplies last).
The band will embark on a world tour in support of Vessel beginning on April 5th in Boulder, CO with stops in Santa Fe, Los Angeles, Seattle, with newly added US and European dates in May and June. See below for a full list of shows.
Tour Dates: Apr. 05 - Boulder, CO - Fox Theater * Apr. 06 - Colorado Springs, CO - Black Sheep * Apr. 07 - Santa Fe, NM - Meow Wolf * Apr. 09 - Phoenix, AZ - Crescent Ballroom * Apr. 10 - San Diego, CA - Quartyard % Apr. 11 - Los Angeles, CA - Regent Theatre % Apr. 12 - Santa Ana, CA - The Constellation Room % Apr. 13 - Fresno, CA - Strummers % Apr. 14 - Berkeley, CA - UC Theatre % Apr. 17 - Seattle, WA - Neumos % Apr. 18 - Olympia, WA - Capitol Theater % Apr. 20 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom % Apr. 30 - Pawtucket, RI - The Met May 01 - New Haven, CT - Toad’s Place May 02 - Cambridge, MA - The Sinclair @ May 03 - Burlington, VT - ArtsRiot @ May 04 - Montreal, QC - Theatre Fairmount @ May 05 - Toronto, ON - The Rec Room @ May 06 - Grand Rapids, MI - The Pyramid Scheme May 07 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall May 09 - Nashville, TN - The Basement East May 10 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle (Back Room) May 11 - Richmond, VA - Capital Ale House May 12 - Washington, DC - Black Cat May 13 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer May 22 - Berlin, DE - Kantine am Berghain May 23 - Hamburg, DE - Aalhaus May 24 - Ghent, BE - DOKbox May 25 - Amsterdam, NL - London Calling @ Paradiso (Small Hall) May 28 - Manchester, UK - Gorilla May 29 - Glasgow, UK - The Art School May 30 - Bristol, UK - The Fleece May 31 - London, UK - Scala Jun. 08 - Queens, NY - Forest Hills Stadium # Jul. 14 - Madrid, ES - Mad Cool Festival
* w/ Lomelda @ Florist & Lala Lala % w/ Ian Sweet and SOAR # w/ Belle & Sebastian, Perfume Genius
Moaning have shared a surrealistic new video for “Tired,” a highlight track from their forthcoming self-titled Sub Pop debut, which will be out in the world March 2nd.
“Behind closed doors we experience a series of strange stories: A house catches fire, a giant hamster takes a bath, and a series of objects spontaneously combust. The “Tired” video plays with analog special effects, creating dream-like environments and scenarios,” says director Ambar Navarro (Stef Chura, Anna Burch). “Tired” co-stars the band alongside Casper the Hamster, Mr.Maggie the Cat, and 2 lucky goldfish, and was shot at Titmouse Studios in Los Angeles.
Moaning will be available on CD/LP/CS/DL worldwide through Sub Pop right here. LP preorders through megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers will receive the limited Loser edition on pink vinyl (while supplies last). A new t-shirt design will also be available.
Moaning’s international tour schedule for 2018 in support of the album has been extended through June 10th. New highlights include appearances at Treefort (Boise, ID), 3 Les Elephants (Laval, FR), London Calling (Amsterdam, NL), This Is Not A Love Song (Nimes, FR) and Best Kept Secret (Hilvarenbeek, NL) festivals. Additional tour dates to be announced soon.
Mar. 09 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo ^
Mar. 10 - Phoenix, AZ - Crescent Ballroom / Flying Burrito Music & Food Festival
Mar. 11 - Flagstaff, AZ - Chancy’s Crib
Mar. 13 - San Antonio, TX - Paper Tiger / Heatwave 3 Festival
Mar. 14 - Austin, TX - SXSW
Mar. 15 - Austin, TX - SXSW
Mar. 16 - Austin, TX - SXSW
Mar. 17 - Austin, TX - SXSW
Mar. 18 - Hot Springs, AR - Valley of the Vapors
Mar. 20 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
Mar. 21 - Omaha, NE - O’Leaves
Mar. 21-25 - Boise, ID - Treefort Festival
Mar. 22 - Denver, CO - Lost Lake Lounge
Mar. 23 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court *
Mar. 25 - Reno, NV - Holland Project
May 11 - Seattle, WA - Barboza **
May 12 - Portland, OR - Star Theatre **
May 14 - San Francisco, CA - Rickshaw Stop **
May 18 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo **
May 19 - Phoenix, AZ - Valley Bar **
May 25 - Laval, FR - 3 Les Elephants
May 26 - Amsterdam, NL - London Calling
Jun. 01 - Nimes, FR - This Is Not A Love Song Festival
Jun. 10 - Hilvarenbeek, NL - Best Kept Secret Festival
Chad VanGaalen has delivered a beautiful, amorphous video for “Host Body,” one of the standouts from Light Information, his acclaimed album of 2017.
“The theme of the video is paranoia and the illusion of reality. All of the beings in the animation are affected by how they perceive themselves through the internet, or through technological devices they have come in contact with. In this animated take on the song, the ‘parasitic demon’ is the worshiping and addiction of the augmented reality,” VanGaalen says of the new visual, which he animated meticulously over the last four months.
Chad VanGaalen has also scheduled a mainland and eastern European tour in support of Light Information for 2018, which begins May 26th in Madrid, Spain at Tomavistas Festival and ends June 5th in Krakow, Poland at Green Zoo. The tour will make additional stops in Belgium (Brussels), Netherlands (Amsterdam, Groningen) Russia (St. Petersburg, Moscow), and Poland (Warsaw).
May 26 - Madrid, ES - Tomavistas Festival May 29 - Brussels, BE - AB club May 30 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso May 31 - Groningen, NL - Vera Jun. 02 - St. Petersburg, RU - Erarta Stage Jun. 03 - Moscow, RU - 16 Tons Jun. 04 - Warsaw, PL - Plac Zabaw Jun. 05 - Krakow, PL - Green Zoo
These tour dates follow a visit to Germany in April 24-29 for the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film. The festival will be featuring a program retrospective of Chad’s animation work, a screening of his short sci-fi film “Tarboz”, and a live performance accompanied by visuals.
Light Information is available now on CD / LP / DL / CS worldwide on Sub Pop and in Canada through Flemish Eye.
Today, the incomparable King Tuff has released “The Other,” his first new song in 4 years. Proof is right here in the form of a musical video.
You can (and should also) listen to “The Other” via Apple Music and/or Spotify.
“It’s a song about hitting rock bottom. I didn’t even know what I wanted to do anymore, but I still had this urge-this feeling-like there was this possibility of something else I could be doing… and then I just followed that possibility. To me, that’s what songwriting, and art in general, is about. You’re chasing something, there is something out there calling to you and you’re trying to get at it. ‘The Other’ is basically where songs come from. It’s the hidden world. It’s the mystery. It’s the invisible hand that guides you whenever you make something. It’s the thing I had to rediscover-the sort of voice I had to follow-to bring me back to making music again in a way that felt true and good.”
Of the Cameron Dutra-directed video, Kyle Thomas says “it is like the song itself - representing the uphill climb of creativity.”
[Photo Credit: Olivia Bee]
In case you haven’t yet, now would be the perfect time to follow King Tuff everywhere in the known interverse on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.
Jericho Sirens will be available worldwide on March 16th
As previously announced, Friday, March 16th, 2018 will mark the release of Hot Snakes’ Jericho Sirens, the long-awaited fourth album (and first in 14 years!!!) from the San Diego-based punk rock recidivists. For your listening enjoyment, we now share the second single from the band’s new record, entitled, “Death Camp Fantasy.” (also available on Spotifyand Apple Music.
Jericho Sirens is now available for preorder - available on CD / LP / DL / CS - from Sub Pop [right here]. And the band’s newly reissued catalog - Automatic Midnight, Suicide Invoice and Audit in Progress- is also available now on Sub Pop [over here].
The band will play a hometown release show in San Diego at the Casbah on March 7th, which is then followed immediately by a midwestern U.S. tour March 10th-16th.
Mar. 07 - San Diego, CA - Casbah [Sold Out] Mar. 09 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall Mar. 10 - Detroit, MI - El Club Mar. 11 - Cleveland Heights, OH - Grog Shop Mar. 13 - Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge Mar. 14 - St. Louis, MO - Blueberry Hill Mar. 15 - Milwaukee, WI - Cactus Club [Sold Out] Mar. 16 - St. Paul, MN - Turf Club
