“Accompanied by production from Greg Norman and Fugazi’s Guy Picciotto, Downtown Boys sound sharper than ever, their urgency tightened into a raging storm.” – Pitchfork, Best New Track
“[A Wall] feels powerful enough to break down any physical boundary.” – FADER
“Downtown Boys’ mission: to reject boundaries that separate our humanity.” – NPR
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Downtown Boys will release their third album, Cost of Living, August 11th on Sub Pop. The Providence, RI band savagely stand their ground with this new album cut (and follow-up to the politically charged single “A Wall”) “Lips That Bite,” now available from the Adult Swim Singles Program via Stereogum.
Downtown Boys’ new album, Cost of Living, will be released on CD / LP / CASS / DL, and is available for pre-order here now. LP pre-orders in North America through the Sub Pop Mega Mart and select independent retailers will receive the Loser Edition on marbled gold vinyl while supplies last. Plus, a new T-shirt design will also be available for some sweet bundling action.
[Photo Credit: Miguel Rosario]
Downtown Boys use their ferocious energy and powerhouse live shows to unite crowds in the struggle to smash racism, queerphobia, capitalism, fascism, boredom, and all things people use to try to close our minds, eyes and hearts. In addition to festival appearances at Riot Fest, London Calling, Made In America, and a House of Vans summer show w/ Royal Headache and Sheer Mag next week, Downtown Boys have added a slew of dates to their upcoming tour. Full list of dates HERE or see below.
Cost of Living is Downtown Boys’ first record for Sub Pop, and the band is using this new platform as a megaphone for their protest music, amplifying and centering Chicana, queer, and Latino voices in the far-too-whitewashed world of rock. The album is at once incendiary, cathartic, and fun, melding the band’s revolutionary ideals with boundless energy. Produced by Fugazi’s Guy Picciotto, one of indie-rock’s most mythological figures (he also produced Blonde Redhead, The Gossip, and others), Cost of Living shows a sense of maturity without compromising the band’s righteous assault and captivating presence.
The position of Downtown Boys has been clear since they started storming through basements and DIY spaces with their radically-minded, indefatigable rock music: they are here to topple the white-cis-het hegemony and draft a new history. This is how Downtown Boys began, and their resolve has only strengthened as both their sound and audience have grown. Like the socially conscious groups of years past, from Public Enemy to Rage Against the Machine, Downtown Boys harness powerful sloganeering, repetitive grooves, and earworm hooks to create one of the most necessary musical statements of today.
The Day is Quazarz’s, and the Time is now to plug your audio-visual sensors:
“Welcome to Quazarz,” the first, official video from Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines - Directed by Nep Sidhu - is viewable here via Black Constellation’s new YouTube channel.
Join US. Trust US. WE know what is best. Sleep more. Watch more. Eat gristle. Drink pop. Do Less.
JoinUS. Trust US. WE know what is best. Sleep more. Watch more. Eat gristle. Drink pop. Do Less.
JoinUS. Trust US. WE know what is best. Sleep more. Watch more. Eat gristle. Drink pop. Do Less. ——————— An interruption of the Guild’s proliferation of porcinepoliculapropogandai. A notification of service:
We received the beams and mixed them for the youth of ourterra so that they might know that they were not alone, that the revolution of resolution was still well underway.
We saw shattered fragments of the ritual dance that sustained them even in the midst of thetechno tyranny. It’s form was fitting as they like us were shards of what was Once.
They needed To know that theQuazarian fight mirrored their own and that there was hope in both the old ways and the new.
The guild doesn’t want you to see-hear-feelthi…
END FEED
JoinUS. Trust US. WE know what is best. Sleep more. Watch more. Eat gristle. Drink pop. Do Less
JoinUS. Trust US. WE know what is best. Sleep more. Watch more. Eat gristle. Drink pop. Do Less
JoinUS. Trust US. WE know what is best. Sleep more. Watch more. Eat gristle. Drink pop. Do Less
Published in Quazarian Con-Guild leaflet The Proper Gander circa right now “Release Day” by Maikoiyo Alley-Barnes
Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star and Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines are available for purchase now from Sub Pop right here. LP orders for each album from megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers will continue to receive the limited “Loser” edition on colored vinyl (…Jealous Machines on mashed-up purple; …Born on a Gangster Star on aluminum) while supplies last. Both albums can be purchased together from Sub Pop as a special bundle, and there are also new T-shirt designs associated with each release (one for …Born on a Gangster Star and two for …vs. The Jealous Machines).
Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star, which includes tracks “Shine A Light” (feat. Thaddillac), “Since Caya,” “When Cats Claw” and Moon Whip Quäz (feat. Darrius),” was produced by Knife Knights (aka Ishmael Butler and Erik Blood) and recorded and mixed by Blood at Protect and Exalt Labs: A Black Space in Seattle.
Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines, which includes tracks “30 Clip Extension” “Effeminence” and “Julian’s Dream (Ode to a Bad)” was produced by the Palaceer Lazaro and Sunny Levine, recorded in Seattle at Protect and Exalt Labs: A Black Space and in Marina Del Rey at Dror Lord Studios, and mixed by Levine and Kamal Humphrey at Kamal’s House Studio.
Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines will also be available as a special-edition illustrated album: illustrated by cartoonist Joshua Ray Stephens this full-color, hand-numbered, 32-page book includes a download code for the full album. Joshua Ray Stephens worked directly with Shabazz Palaces to interpret the album track-by-track, creating a cohesive whole that synchronizes music and image. Printed in a large 11” x 17” format, with saddle-stitch binding, this limited-edition art piece further expands the ambitious universe of Quazarz and Shabazz Palaces. The illustrated album version of Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines will be released in collaboration with Fantagraphics Books on Friday, August 18th.
Shabazz Palaces have extended their 2017 tour schedule in support both Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star and Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines with international dates that begin July 13th-16th at Cascadia Festival in Granite Falls, Washington run and through November 9th-12th at Le Guess Who? Festival in Utrecht, Netherlands. The European leg of the tour will visit 23 cities including Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, Istanbul, Vienna, Prague, Berlin, Geneva, Paris, Dublin, London, Glasgow, and Brussels.
Jul. 13-16 - Granite Falls, WA - Cascadia Festival Aug. 16 - Portland, OR - The Star Theater* Aug. 18 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall* Aug. 19 - Los Angeles, CA - The Regent Theatre* Aug. 20 - Phoenix, AZ - Crescent Ballroom* Aug. 21 - El Paso - TX - The Lowbrow * Aug. 21 - El Paso, TX - Lowbrow* Aug. 23 - Austin, TX - Mohawk (Outdoor Stage)* Aug. 24 - Dallas, TX - Club Dada* Aug. 25 - Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon* Aug. 26 - Atlanta, GA - Terminal West* Aug. 27 - Charleston, SC - Music Farm* Aug. 28 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle* Aug. 30 - Columbus, OH - Ace of Cups* Aug. 31 - Detroit, MI - El Club* Sep. 01 - Toronto, ON - Lee’s Palace* Sep. 02 - Montreal, QC - Theatre Fairmount* Sep. 03 - Quebec City, QC - Le Cercle Sep. 05 - Boston, MA - The Sinclair* Sep. 06 - Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw* Sep. 07 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer* Sep. 08 - Washington, DC - Black Cat* Sep. 09 - Baltimore, DC - Ottobar* Sep. 11 - Asheville, NC - The Grey Eagle Tavern & Music Hall * Sep. 12 - Nashville, TN - Exit In * Sep. 13 - St. Louis - MO - Ready Room * Sep. 16 - Chicago, IL - Riot Fest at Douglas Park Oct. 06 - Copenhagen, DK - Jazz House Oct. 07 - Stockholm, SE - Debaser Strand Oct. 08 - Oslo, NO - Parkteateret Oct. 09 - Gotheburg, SE - Pustervik Oct. 11 - Helsinki, FI - Kuudes Linja Oct. 12 - Tallin, Estonia - Sinilind Oct. 13 - Riga, LV - Skaņu Mežs festival Oct. 17 - Bratislava, SK - A4 Zero Space Oct. 19 - Ljubljana, SI - Kino Siska Oct. 20 - Istanbul, TR - Garajstanbul Oct. 21 - Vienna, AT - Arena Oct. 22 - Prague, CZ - Struny Podzimu Festival Oct. 23 - Berlin, DE - Gretchen Oct. 26 - Dudingen, CH - Bad Bonn Oct. 27 - Zurich, CH - Rote Fabrik Oct. 28 - Geneva, CH - La Graviere Oct. 30 - Paris, FR - Batofar Nov. 03 - Dublin, IE - Sugar Club Nov. 06 - London, UK - Oval Space Nov. 07 - Manchester, UK - Deaf Institute Nov. 08 - Glasgow, UK - Art School Nov. 10 - Brussels, BE - AB Nov. 09-12 - Utrecht, NL - Le Guess Who? Festival (Curated by Shabazz Palaces)
Strange Peace will be available in Canada from Royal Mountain Records and throughout the rest of the world from Sub Pop Records.
On September 22nd, METZ will release Strange Peace, an emphatic but artful hammer swing to the status quo and their highly-anticipated third full-length album. Alex Edkins (guitar, vocals), Hayden Menzies (drums), and Chris Slorach (bass) recorded at Electrical Audio in Chicago, live off the floor to tape with Steve Albini. The result is a distinct artistic maturation into new and alarming territory, frantically pushing past where the band has gone before, while capturing the notorious intensity of their live show. The trio continued to assemble the album (including home recordings, additional instrumentation) back at home in Toronto, adding the finishing touches with longtime collaborator, engineer and mixer, Graham Walsh. “The songs on Strange Peace are about uncertainty,” Edkins explains. “They’re about recognizing that we’re not always in control of our own fate, and about admitting our mistakes and fears. They’re about finding some semblance of peace within the chaos.”
And “Cellophane,” the first song to be released from the new album, is available now. Read the full bio for Strange Peace below.
Strange Peace is available for pre-order now from both Sub Pop and Royal Mountain Records. LP pre-orders of the album from megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers will receive the limited Loser Edition on clear vinyl with red and green swirls (while supplies last).
Strange Peace Tracklisting: 1. Mess of Wires 2. Drained Lake 3. Cellophane 4. Caterpillar 5. Lost in the Blank City 6. Mr. Plague 7. Sink 8. Common Trash 9. Escalator Teeth 10. Dig a Hole 11. Raw Materials
METZ have scheduled international tour dates in support of Strange Peace from September 25th at Chicago’s Thalia Hall, through to December 16th in Houston at Studio at Warehouse Live, with more to follow. This first tour will visit over 34 cities including Toronto (two shows), Boston, New York, Philadelphia, DC, Prague, London, Warsaw, Berlin, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Paris, Seattle, Vancouver, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin.
Sep. 05 - Atlanta, GA - 529 Sep. 07- Raleigh, NC - Hopscotch Festival Sep. 25 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall Sep. 29 - Toronto, ON - Lee’s Palace * Sep. 30 - Toronto, ON - Lee’s Palace * Oct. 02 - Boston, MA - Sinclair # Oct. 03 - Philadelphia, PA - The First Unitarian Church # Oct. 04 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg # Oct. 05 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom # Oct. 06 - Washington, DC - Rock & Roll Hotel # Oct. 08 - Montreal, QC - La Sala Rosa Nov. 02 - Prague, Czech Republic - Futurum ! Nov. 03 - Wroclaw, Poland - Klub Firlej ! Nov. 04 - Warsaw, Poland - Klub Hydrozagadka ! Nov. 06 - Berlin, Germany - Bi Nuu ! Nov. 07 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Loppen ! Nov. 08 - Hamburg, Germany - Knust ! Nov. 09 - Zwolle, Netherlands - Poppodium Hedon ^ Nov. 10 - Kortrijk, Belgium - De Kruen (Sonic City Festival) Nov. 12 - Le Havre, France - Le Tetris % Nov. 14 - Nimes, France - La Paloma % Nov. 15 - Bordeaux, France - Theatre Barbey % Nov. 16 - Toulouse, France - Club Metronum % Nov. 17 - Barcelona, Spain - La (2) De Apolo % Nov. 18 - Madrid, Spain - Moby Dick % Nov. 20 - Nantes, France - Pole Etudiant % Nov. 21 - Paris, France - Le Trabendo % Nov. 22 - London, UK - The Garage % Nov. 23 - Bristol, UK - The Fleece % Nov. 24 - Leeds, UK - Brudenell Social Club % Nov. 25 - Brighton, UK - The Haunt % Dec. 07 - Seattle, WA - Neumos Dec. 08 - Vancouver, BC - Cobalt Dec. 09 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Dec. 11 - San Francisco, CA - Independent Dec. 12 - Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Dec. 13 - San Diego, CA - Casbah Dec. 15 - Austin, TX - Mohawk & Dec. 16 - Houston, TX - Studio @ Warehouse Live
* with SUUNS # with Uniform ! with Protomartyr ^ with Brian Case % with Drahla & with Cherubs
More on METZ’s Strange Peace Since releasing their self-titled debut record in 2012, which The New Yorker called, “One of the year’s best albums…a punishing, noisy, exhilarating thing,” the Toronto-based 3-piece METZ have garnered international acclaim as one of the most electrifying and forceful live acts, touring widely and extensively, playing hundreds of shows each year around the world.
Now, Alex Edkins (guitar, vocals), along with Hayden Menzies (drums), and Chris Slorach (bass) are set to unleash their highly-anticipated third full-length album, Strange Peace, an emphatic but artful hammer swing to the status quo.
“The best punk isn’t an assault as much as it’s a challenge — to what’s normal, to what’s comfortable, or simply to what’s expected. Teetering on the edge of perpetual implosion,” NPR wrote in their glowing review of METZ’s 2015 second album, II.
Strange Peace was recorded in Chicago, live off the floor to tape with Steve Albini. The result is a distinct artistic maturation into new and alarming territory, frantically pushing past where the band has gone before, while capturing the notorious intensity of their live show.
“Recording in Chicago was a blast. We tracked fourteen songs in four days. It was the first time we felt confident enough to just play live and roll tape,” Edkins said of the recording process. “Strange Peace is much more diverse and varied than anything we’ve done before, which was exhilarating, but terrifying, too. We took the tapes home to Toronto feeling like we’d made the record we wanted to make.”
The trio continued to assemble the album (including home recordings, additional instrumentation) back in their hometown, adding the finishing touches with longtime collaborator, engineer and mixer, Graham Walsh.
From the ferocious opening track, “Mess of Wires,” we’re met by the sheer force and fierce musicianship we’ve come to expect from METZ. With the unhinged, post-punk fragments of “Drained Lake,” and the whirling, acerbic pop features of “Cellophane,” the band’s hectic progression becomes clear. But Strange Peace isn’t merely a collection of eleven uninhibited and urgent songs. It’s also a kind of sonic venting, a truculent social commentary that bludgeons and provokes, excites and unsettles.
“The songs on Strange Peace are about uncertainty,” Edkins explains. “They’re about recognizing that we’re not always in control of our own fate, and about admitting our mistakes and fears. They’re about finding some semblance of peace within the chaos.”
With all the pleasurable tension and anxiety of a fever dream, Strange Peace is equal parts challenging and accessible. It is this implausible balancing act, moving from one end of the musical spectrum to the other, that only a band of METZ’s power and capacity can maintain: discordant and melodic, powerful and controlled, meticulous and instinctive, subtle and complex, precise and reckless, wholehearted and merciless, brutal and optimistic, terrifying and fun.
“Their whiplash of distortion is made with precision, a contained chaos. But you would never talk about them like that. Because METZ are not something you study or analyze,” wrote Liisa Ladouceur in Exclaim! “They are something you feel: a transfer of energy, pure and simple.”
In other words: to feel something, fiercely and intensely, but together, not alone.
Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star and Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines will be released next week, Friday, July 14th worldwide through Sub Pop
NPR Music’s “First Listen” is now streaming Shabazz PalacesQuazarz Born On A Gangster Star and Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines in their entirety. Listen/hear:
Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star -> n.pr/2sJKO1d Quazarz vs The Jealous Machines -> n.pr/2sJxWby
NPR Music’s Rodney Carmichael says in the …Born On A Gangster Star review, “In thermodynamics, black bodies are both perfect absorbers and emitters of radiant energy. That seeming contradiction would not be lost on one Palaceer Lazaro, better known as Ishmael Butler of Shabazz Palaces, who continues to find far-out ways to reflect and refract the sound and fury of popular culture and contemporary blackness.”
And in the accompanying …vs The Jealous Machines review, Carmichael offers this, “Shifting the paradigm isn’t Palaceer Lazaro’s point. Rather, it’s the pervading pointlessness that Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines and accompanying album Quazarz: Born On A Gangster Star put on blast. When the self-proclaimed aliens begin to rule the industry, it’s natural for anyone with an original voice to feel a true sense of alienation. And therein is where the irony — and Shabazz Palaces’ genius — lies.”
Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines and Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star will be released on July 14th on CD / LP / DL / CS and are now available for preorder from Sub Pop here. LP pre-orders for each album from megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers, will receive the limited “Loser” edition on colored vinyl (…Jealous Machines on mashed-up purple; …Born on a Gangster Star on aluminum). Both albums can be purchased together as a special bundle, and there are also fresh new T-shirt designs associated with each release (one for …Born on a Gangster Star and two for …vs. The Jealous Machines) (read more at Sub Pop).
“The ‘Quazarz’ suite is an unequivocal triumph.” [9/10] -Loud & Quiet
Shabazz Palaces will support both Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star and Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines with international tour dates that span July 13th-16th at Cascadia Festival in Granite Falls, Washington through November 9th-12th at Le Guess Who? Festival in Utrecht, Netherlands.
Jul. 13-16 - Granite Falls, WA - Cascadia Festival Aug. 16 - Portland, OR - The Star Theater* Aug. 18 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall* Aug. 19 - Los Angeles, CA - The Regent Theatre* Aug. 20 - Phoenix, AZ - Crescent Ballroom* Aug. 21 - El Paso, TX - Lowbrow* Aug. 23 - Austin, TX - Mohawk (Outdoor Stage)* Aug. 24 - Dallas, TX - Club Dada* Aug. 25 - Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon* Aug. 26 - Atlanta, GA - Terminal West* Aug. 27 - Charleston, SC - Music Farm* Aug. 28 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle* Aug. 30 - Columbus, OH - Ace of Cups* Aug. 31 - Detroit, MI - El Club* Sep. 01 - Toronto, ON - Lee’s Palace* Sep. 02 - Montreal, QC - Theatre Fairmount* Sep. 03 - Quebec City, QC - Le Cercle Sep. 05 - Boston, MA - The Sinclair* Sep. 06 - Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw* Sep. 07 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer* Sep. 08 - Washington, DC - Black Cat* Sep. 09 - Baltimore, DC - Ottobar* Sep. 11 - Asheville, NC - The Grey Eagle Tavern & Music Hall Sep. 15 - 17 - Chicago, IL - Riot Fest at Douglas Park Nov. 09-12 - Utrecht, NL - Le Guess Who? Festival *w/ Porter Ray
NPR Music says of the album: “Beach House has spent 13 years and six albums perfecting a hazy dream-pop sound that’s as versatile as it is enduringly, endearingly simple. Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally make brooding, deliberately paced music that still sparkles and sweetens in surprising ways — a contradiction summed up by the title of one of Beach House’s best records, Depression Cherry…Given its title, B-Sides And Rarities is upfront about being an exercise for enthusiasts, completists and other loving obsessives. But more casual fans shouldn’t shrug it off, either. Beach House has mounted a marvelous career on its ability to set a gloomy electro-pop mood without losing touch with its brighter side — and that gift stays on full display throughout this shaggily appealing assortment of orphaned gems [link here].”
Furthermore from Rolling Stone: “Baltimore’s dream-pop magicians offer up every previous non-LP studio track they’ve made – 14 in all. The result, unsurprisingly, is another beautifully sculpted, Fifties-goths-in-amber Beach House LP. Which isn’t to say there aren’t surprises like the snarling guitar that transforms the alternate single version of Teen Dream’s wistful “Used to Be” into something much fiercer. And “Rain in Numbers,” recorded just weeks after the band formed, is the sound of a sound being born.”
You might also like to not miss the new video for “Chariot” (from B-Sides and Rarities) which was directed by the band. The visual acts as a rumination on the creation, cultivation, and confusion of narratives in media.
Beach House’s B-Sides and Rarities can be purchased on CD / LP / DL / CS in North America from Sub Pop right here, in Europe from Bella Union, and Australia from Mistletone. LP orders in North America through the Sub Pop Mega Mart and select independent retailers will receive the Loser Edition on crystal clear vinyl (while supplies last).
