Beach House’s Thank Your Lucky Stars, the group’s second album for 2015,  is available now on vinyl and digitally in North America through Sub Pop Mega Mart, Bandcamp, Amazon, iTunes and your local record stores, with the CD version hitting shelves tomorrow, October 30th. 

Thank Your Lucky Stars entered the charts at #38 on the Billboard Top 200, with 11,125 scanned. Additional chart placements include: #1 / Vinyl; #4 / Alternative Albums;  #6 / Independent; #7 / Internet;  #24 / Current Albums; #24 / Digital.

Beach House’s 2015/16 worldwide tour in support of Thank Your Lucky Stars and Depression Cherry is underway, with a show tonight,  October 29th in Paris for Pitchfork Music Festival. Their 2015 dates end with a sold-out 3-night stand December 17-19 in San Francisco at The Fillmore.  Then, they’ll kick-off 2016 dates on January 30th in Singapore at Laneway Festival and continue through to a sold out, two-night stand March 18th-19th at Philadelphia’s Union Transfer.  (tour details below)

Beach House’s Depression Cherry (released Aug. 28, 2015) earned the group its second consecutive top 10 album, coming in at #8 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. Meanwhile, in the UK, the album also entered at #17 on the Top 200 Albums chart.  At radio, Depression Cherry has now spent 5 weeks at #1 on the CMJ Top 200. Depression Cherry is also available in North America from Sub Pop Mega Mart,  iTunes, Amazon and Bandcamp.

Beach House’s Thank Your Lucky Stars and Depression Cherry were recorded during the same two-month span, and produced by the band and Chris Coady at Studio in the Country in Bogalusa, Louisiana.  

What people are saying about Beach House:

Thank Your Lucky Stars

“The temptation to view this album as a sequel to Depression Cherry is strong, but the two albums stand apart: Where the earlier album reveled in the bittersweet implications of its title with lush, layered arrangements, Stars is a purer vision of the realities of love, balancing the rush of romance with the burdens that can come along with it.” - Rolling Stone

“’Elegy to the Void’ from Thank Your Lucky Stars, the band’s second album in two months, is engulfing, ethereal and entrancing — as all voids should be.” [“Elegy to the Void”] - NPR Music

“’Elegy to the Void’ creeps in slow, circling on the twilight axis of Victoria Legrand’s deep voice and a low string section. Its effect is like a gravitational vacuum, gently pulling you into a world of vast uncertainty with a ‘black clock looming.’ …A familiar drum chugs in, a guitar rips through with heavenly scratches of feedback, and suspended grief becomes pummeling light. With that, “Elegy to the Void” turns from an ode-to-emptiness into a crucial instructive: thank your lucky stars for everything.” [“Elegy to the Void”, “Best New Track”] - Pitchfork

“Thank Your Lucky Stars is melancholy beauty. It’s music for late nights, for falling adrift in slow dark waters and gazing numbly at the glowing moonlight.” [9/10] - PopMatters

“The idea that you can have too much of a good thing is thoroughly debunked with Thank Your Lucky Stars, such is the beauty of the songwriting and their uncanny ability to create an all-consuming mood.” [8.5 / 10] - The Line Of Best Fit

“..the full sonic and emotional weight is tremendous.” [B +] - AV Club

“This album is not like anything they have ever done, and gives music fans reason to be thankful.” [B+] - Consequence of Sound

“Beach House’s releases to date have come fogged by intoxicant, nostalgia, and hypoxia, but Thank Your Lucky Stars does what their work has begged for all along and wipes the dew from their rearview mirror. You’re going to like what you see.” [8/10] - SPIN

“Companion album or not, it does nothing but further cement Beach House’s legacy of consistent beauty and quality.” - Under the Radar

Depression Cherry

“Singer Victoria Legrand has a refreshingly unshowy croon that’s one of the most seductive in pop, and her gorgeous synth drones and guitarist Alex Scally’s effects-laden riffs are exquisite.” [A -] - Entertainment Weekly

“Reliable, virtually misstep-proof conjurers of a distinct and desirable mood, Legrand and multi-instrumentalist Alex Scally have accumulated the accolades, connections and festival appearances of an unmistakably cool band. But for Beach House, coolness is just another word for calm, for a sound that’s engineered to settle jangled nerves and transport listeners to a warmer, softer, easier place.” - NPR Music

“Anyone who doesn’t fall for Depression Cherry’s hypnotic splendour probably just isn’t a Beach House fan, or didn’t live with the album long enough. But those who do will recognize this album as the sweeping, grand gesture they’ve been working up to giving us for the last nine years.” [9/10] - Exclaim!

“Depression Cherry has four masterful set pieces, staggered to hit as odd-numbered tracks, each deepening the pervasive sense of rediscovered romance.” [8.5 / 10] - MAGNET

“Another impeccably measured step forward.” [8.4 / 10 “Best New Music] - Pitchfork

“Depression Cherry may proudly adhere to every fuzzy touchstone of the genre, but it’s also a record on which every subtle chord shift and breathy sigh feels considered.” [4/5] - The Guardian

Tour Dates

2015

Oct. 29 - Paris, FR - Pitchfork Music Festival

Oct. 30 - London, UK - Shepherds Bush Empire  [Sold Out]

Oct. 31 - London, UK - Shepherds Bush Empire [Sold Out]

Nov. 02 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso [Sold Out]

Nov. 03 - Brussels, BE - Autumn Falls @ AB  [Sold Out]

Nov. 04 - Koln, DE - Gloria

Nov. 05 - Luxemborg, LU - Den Atelier

Nov. 07 - Reykjavik, IS - Iceland Airwaves

Nov. 10 - Oslo, NO - Sentrum Scene

Nov. 11 - Gothenburg, SE - Tradgarn

Nov. 12 - Stockholm, SE - Debaser Medis  [Sold Out]

Nov. 13 - Copenhagen DK - Vega  [Sold Out]

Nov. 14 - Hamburg, DE - Kampnagel K1

Nov. 16 - Berlin, DE - Huxley’s

Nov. 17 - Munich, DE - Freiheiz

Nov. 18  - Lausanne, CH - Les Docks

Nov. 20 - Barcelona, ES - Apolo [Sold Out]

Nov. 22 - Madrid, ES - La Riviera  [Sold Out]

Nov. 23 - Lisbon, PT - Armazén  [Sold Out]

Nov. 24 - Porto, PT - Teatro sa da Bandeira

Dec. 07 - Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory [Sold Out]

Dec. 09 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre [Sold Out]

Dec. 10 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre [Sold Out]

Dec. 11 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre [Sold Out]

Dec. 12 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre [Sold Out]

Dec. 17 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore [Sold Out]

Dec. 18 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore [Sold Out]

Dec. 19 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore [Sold Out]

2016

Jan. 30 - Singapore, SP - Laneway Festival @ The Meadow, Gardens By The Bay

Feb. 01 - Auckland, NZ - Laneway Festival @ Silo Park

Feb. 05 - Adelaide, AU - Laneway Festival  @ Harts Mill

Feb. 06 - Bowen Hills, AU - Laneway Festival @ Brisbane Showgrounds

Feb. 07 - Sydney, AU - Laneway Festival  @ Sydney College Of The Arts

Feb. 13 - Melbourne, AU - Laneway Festival @ Footscray Community Arts Centre   

Feb. 14 - Fremantle, AU - Laneway Festival  @ Esplanade Reserve and West End

Feb. 29 - Cleveland, OH - House of Blues

Mar. 01 - Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre [Sold Out]

Mar. 05 - Toronto, ON - Danforth Music Hall [Sold Out]

Mar. 06 - Toronto, ON - Danforth Music Hall

Mar. 09  - Montreal, QC - Rialto Theatre

Mar. 11 - Boston, MA - House of Blues

Mar. 14 - New York, NY - Webster Hall [Sold Out]

Mar. 15 - New York, NY - Webster Hall [Sold Out]

Mar. 16 - New York, NY - Webster Hall [Sold Out]

Mar. 18 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer [Sold Out]

Mar. 19 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer [Sold Out]

For ticket info please visit http://www.beachhousebaltimore.com/tour.

[ Photo Credit: Jason Williamson ]

This past July, Sleater-Kinney delivered a blistering headlining set to a sold-out crowd at Chicago’s Pitchfork Music Festival in support of No Cities To Love, their critically acclaimed 2015 album. One of the performances captured that night was the live highlight “Modern Girl” - from The Woods, the group’s 2005 album - and you can watch it now: youtube.com/watch?v=7Lepy_rq4T8

Earlier today, Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein released her deeply affecting memoir, Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl via Riverhead Books. Read more about the book via her interview via Pitchfork today (see October 27th post).

Sleater-Kinney’s previously announced 2015 tour schedule resumes November 21st-22nd in Mexico City’s Corona Capital Festival. Then from December 4th-16th, Sleater-Kinney will embark on a Midwestern-East Coast U.S. (details below).

Sleater-Kinney’s No Cities To Love is one of the best reviewed albums of the year with “Best of 2015 (so far)” notices from the likes of Time, USA Today, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, The AV Club, The Guardian, Complex, NME, Stereogum, PASTE, and SPIN. No Cities To Love is available worldwide from Sub Pop, and you can stream it here.

What are “They” saying about No Cities To Love?  Read the good words:

“America’s fiercest punk band....10 songs in 33 minutes, not a dud in the bunch, all surging in uptempo stomp-down-the-door mode. There’s more low-end thud to their sound than before. The whole album crackles with the palpable excitement of three rock lifers in a room, eager to see what happens when they plug in and let it rip.” [Best Albums of 2015 (so far)] - Rolling Stone

“The trio still snap and crackle on their first set since 2005. No Cities… might sound chaotic at first, but each element—Corin Tucker’s sweet snarl, Janet Weiss’ rugged beats, Carrie Brownstein’s noisy solos—is exactly in its right place.” [Best Albums of 2015 (so far)] - Entertainment Weekly

“…33 minutes of unbridled ferocity” [Best Albums of 2015 (so far)] - Time

“Hurtling, bristling, densely packed, white-knuckled songs that are all taut construction and raw nerve… The first great album of 2015” [Review] - New York Times

“…beautiful algebraic equations that solve problems that researchers never even knew existed, moving logically yet filled with left-turn riff maneuvers.” [Review] - LA Times

“The skeptic may be suspicious when I say that, after “All Hands on the Bad One” (2000), the new album, No Cities to Love, is my favorite Sleater-Kinney record, but it is: the musicians pull it off. The songwriters’ ability to create general but urgent scenarios is both more substantial and more insistent than before.” [Review]  - The New Yorker

“The hardest-hitting thing they’ve ever done.” [Review] - Vulture

“As fresh and vitals as a debut, but also as nuanced and skillful as the work of three players with a decade-long inimitable report betwixt them” [First Listen] - NPR

“Their return is not a victory lap. It is a re-declaration of all they were, all they built… We still need Sleater-Kinney” [Review] - Pitchfork

“They were always tumultuous – a storm of longing, fury, aspiration, solidarity, and indomitable emotion” [Feature] - Billboard

The finest living rock band… Extraordinary” [9/10, Review] - SPIN

“Vociferous as ever” [Feature] - Nylon

“Hitting new chords and exploring structures with glee, with that same crucial energy” [Review] - LA Times

“The best rock band on the planet… [they] genuinely dominate, breaking down walls, rules and egos with nimble poise and savage fury” [Feature] - Noisey

“A perfect fusion of musical personalities, a spiky and sparkling rock ‘n’ roll machine” [Feature] - Slate

“As fresh and surprising, as unlikely and as unsatisfied… Promising that this part of the Sleater-Kinney story is only at its start” [Real Life Rock Top 10] - Greil Marcus

“Even their punchy, brief songs carry the weight of epics… genius lyrics and hook after inescapable hook” [A-, Review] - Consequence of Sound

“Roiling and erupting, building up tension and then releasing it gloriously” [Review] - Stereogum

Tour Dates

Nov. 21 - 22 - Mexico City, MX - Corona Capital Festival
Dec. 04 - Indianapolis, IN - Egyptian Room at Old National Centre
Dec. 05 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall
Dec. 06 - Cincinnati, OH - Bogart’s
Dec. 08 - Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre
Dec. 09 - Cleveland, OH - Masonic Auditorium
Dec. 10 - Buffalo, NY - Asbury Hall at Babeville
Dec. 12 - Brooklyn, NY - Kings Theatre
Dec. 13 - New York, NY - Terminal 5
Dec. 14 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza [SOLD OUT]
Dec. 15 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg [SOLD OUT]
Dec. 16 - Brooklyn, NY - Market Hotel [SOLD OUT]

For information on tickets visit sleater-kinney.com

 
This is definitely Shearwater’s biggest and loudest record—it’s easy to imagine these songs roaring from the stage—but it’s also their most detailed and intricate one. Front man Jonathan Meiburg and producer/engineer Reisch (who also recorded 2012’s Animal Joyand the off-the-cuff collaborations of 2014’s Fellow Travelers) spent two years crafting Jet Plane and Oxbow with help from drummer Cully Symington, longtime Shearwater associates Howard Draper and Lucas Oswald, and tourmates Jesca Hoop, Abram Shook, and Jenn Wasner.
 
But their secret weapon this time is film composer and percussionist Brian Reitzell, whose soundtracks include The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation, The Bling Ring, and 30 Days of Night.  Reitzell’s arsenal of strange instruments emphasizes Jet Plane and Oxbow’s cinematic depth and scope, and reflects the band’s choice to anchor the record in the era when digital technology was just beginning to transform the world of recorded music. In Shearwater’s hands this doesn’t feel like nostalgia; the racing synths and hammered dulcimers of heart-pounding opener “Prime” or the addled motorik of “Radio Silence” sound more like a metaphor for our own bewildering moment. (For a full bio, along with a conversation between famed music journalist Michael Azerrad & Shearwater frontman Meiburg, read here).

Shearwater will begin their 2016 tour in February with three warm-up dates in Texas and New York before heading to Europe for the rest of the month. (Full schedule below). A further North American tour will also be announced soon.
 

Jet Plane and Oxbow is now available for preorder through Sub Pop Mega Mart, iTunes, and Amazon. LP preorders through megamart.subpop.com will receive the limited “Loser” edition on blue colored vinyl while supplies last.
 
Additionally, when you preorder Jet Plane and Oxbow you’ll get access to stream the album before its street date, and provide access to an exclusive Shearwater podcast, “Headwaters,” which features demos and outtakes from the new record and a conversation between Meiburg and WNYC’s John Schaefer (host of “New Sounds”).
 
“It’s like joining us on an expedition,”  Meiburg says of the podcast, only half in jest.  Along the way, he and Schaefer listen to field recordings of howler monkeys, musician wrens, and other strange creatures from remote parts of Guyana and Brazil, and they talk about everything from the ideas and influences that fed the new album to David Bowie’s idea of “social protest music”, the fearsome teeth of the vampire fish, and the last days of Lawrence of Arabia.  Shearwater’s longtime fans won’t be surprised by Meiburg’s wide-ranging interests, but new listeners will enjoy meeting an unlikely front man who seems to be part rock star, part David Attenborough.  
 

Tour Dates

U.S. 
Feb. 03 - Austin, TX - North Door
Feb. 04 - Dallas, TX - Club Dada
Feb. 06 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
 
Europe
Feb. 10 - Berlin, DE - Frannz Club
Feb. 11 - Copenhagen, DK - Loppen
Feb. 12 - Hamburg, DE -  Molotow
Feb. 13 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso Noord
Feb. 14 - Brussels. BE - Botanique
Feb. 16 - Lille, FR - Aeronef
Feb. 17 - London, UK - Islington Assembly Hall
Feb. 18 - Bristol, UK -  The Fleece
Feb. 19 - Leeds, UK - The Brudenell Social Club
Feb. 20 - Glasgow, UK - King Tuts
Feb. 21 - Newcastle, UK - The Cluny
Feb. 23 - Dublin, IE -  Button Factory
Feb. 24 - Manchester , UK - Night & Day
Feb. 25 - Brighton, UK - The Haunt
Feb. 26 - Paris FR, -  Point Ephémère
Feb. 27 - Zurich, CH - Bogen F
Feb. 28 - Fribourg, CH - Nouveau Monde