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).
The Palaceer Lazaro shares this poem from The Shogun Shot, which is said to be Quazarz’ inspiration for the song “Effeminence”:
To Kujuu: dreamer of the second dream
We met walking the web, And that once we breathed the same sea air… Now I think of you forever and never; The Qu’en of all my futures, passed, Tonight the moon is ringed with your name written in chrome, Your splendor enthroned betrothed to my every thought for endless tomorrows, I wish we one day soon to lift upour selves together out of the data mines… And with the children, To taste the gilded air of Purple Cliffs and once again, In log off forever…
“Effeminence” was produced and recorded by The Palaceer Lazaro and Sonny Levine at Dror Lord Studios, with mixing by Levine and Kamal Humphrey at Kamal’s House.
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).
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
Light Information will be available in Canada from Flemish Eye and the rest of the world from Sub Pop
Nobody cared about their old heads, because the new ones work just fine now, don’t they?.... they have the same size mouth and eyes.
From the beautiful mind of Chad VanGaalen comes Light Information. The creative polymath’s sixth album will in stores worldwide on September 8th.
While alienation has always been a theme of VanGaalen’s music, Light Information draws on a new kind of wisdom–and anxiety–gained as he watches his kids growing up. “Being a parent has given me a sort of alternate perspective, worrying about exposure to a new type of consciousness that’s happening through the internet,” he says. “I didn’t have that growing up, and I’m maybe trying to preserve a little bit of that selfishly for my kids.”
The song “Old Heads” is a sci-fi space anthem to technology that constantly replaces itself, proving both necessary and unnecessary at the same time. It’s also a jangly pop gem, a trip through the fantastical that is ultimately warm and relatable.
Light Information features the standouts “Old Heads” [listen on Spotify], “Pine & Clover,” and Mind Hijacker’s Curse.” As always, VanGaalen wrote, played, and produced all of the music on the album (save Ryan Bourne’s bass part on “Mystery Elementals” and vocals on “Static Shape” from his young daughters Ezzy and Pip), and designed the cover art. Light Information emerged from the experimental instruments that fill VanGaalen’s Calgary garage studio. Among them is a beloved Korg 770 monosynth, which VanGaalen coveted for years before fixing one up and devoting a lot of recent energy to recording “duets” with it. One of these, “Prep Piano and 770,” is the lone instrumental on Light Information, more atmosphere and chord bursts than the rest of the album’s hooky rock narrative.
“If I was going to go out and buy a record, I would probably want it to sound only like that,” says VanGaalen. “That one’s for me.”
Throughout the dark-wave reverb of Light Information are stories of paranoia, disembodiment, and isolation–but there’s also playfulness, empathy, and intimacy.
[Photo Credit: Marc Rimmer]
Read more about Chad Van Gaalen (bio by Evie Nagy) at subpop.com, and follow Chad everywhere in the known inter-verse via Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.
Light Information is available for preorder now (CD / LP / DL / CS) from Sub Pop and Flemish Eye. LP preorders of the album from megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers will receive the limited Loser edition on crystal clear vinyl (while supplies last).
Light Information Tracklisting:
1. Mind Hijacker’s Curse 2. Locked in the Phase 3. Prep Piano and 770 4. Host Body 5. Mystery Elementals 6. Old Heads 7. Golden Oceans 8. Faces Lit 9. Pine and Clover 10. You Fool 11. Broken Bell 12. Static Shape
Chad VanGaalen has also scheduled fall 2017 international tour dates in support of Light Information. The dates currently span October 15th in Utrecht, Netherlands at EKKO through December 8th in Montreal, Quebec at The Fairmount. The 30-city trek will include stops in London, Copenhagen, Berlin, Paris, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, and Brooklyn. Support for the North American shows (select dates) will come from NE-HI (November 11th-19th) and Un Blonde (December 1st-8th). Please find a complete list of dates below.
Europe Oct. 15 - Utrecht, NL - EKKO Oct. 16 - Rotterdam, NL - Rotown Oct. 17 - London, UK - Oslo Oct. 18 - Leeds, UK - Brudenell Social Club Oct. 20 - Hamburg, DE - Molotow (Sky Bar) Oct. 21 - Copenhagen, DK - Stengade Oct. 22 - Berlin, DE - Kantine am Berghain Oct. 24 - Düdingen, CH - Bad Bonn Oct. 25 - Lyon, FR - Le Sonic Oct. 26 - Amiens, FR - La Lune des Pirates Oct. 27 - Paris, FR - Point Ephemere Oct. 28 - Nantes, FR - SOY Festival Oct. 29 - Tourcoing, FR - Le Grand Mix Oct. 30 - Luxemburg, LU - Rotondes Oct. 31 - Gent, BE - BIB
North America Nov. 09 - Vancouver, BC - The Biltmore Cabaret Nov. 10 - Seattle, WA - Sunset Tavern * Nov. 12 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir * Nov. 14 - San Francisco, CA - The Chapel * Nov. 15 - Los Angeles, CA - Satellite Club * Nov. 16 - San Diego, CA - Soda Bar * Nov. 17 - Phoenix, AZ - Valley Bar * Nov. 19 - Denver, CO - Hi Dive * Nov. 20 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court Nov. 30 - Toronto, ON - Lee’s Palace Dec. 01 - Detroit, MI - El Club ** Dec. 02 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle ** Dec. 03 - Indianapolis, IN - The Hi Fi ** Dec. 05 - Pittsburgh, PA - Club Cafe ** Dec. 06 - Brooklyn, NY - Rough Trade NYC ** Dec. 07 - Allston, MA - Great Scott ** Dec. 08 - Montreal QC - Fairmont** *w/ NE-HI **w/ Un Blonde
