The National and Menomena have previously been tourmates, but now members of the two groups have teamed up for a new project. Menomena's singer/multi-instrumentalist Danny Seim and the National's drummer Bryan Devendorf are preparing to release their first album as Pfarmers.
The lineup also includes horn player Dave Nelson, who has backed artists like Sufjan Stevens, as well as David Byrne and St. Vincent. Pfarmers' debut album is called Gunnera and it's due out on May 12 through Jurassic Pop.
According to a press release, the music resembles Seim's solo project Lackthereof "as played by Kraftwerk," with a style that shifts "between catchy pop songs and long instrumental breaks." The album contains a fairly modest seven songs, although some of the tunes are long; opener "Benthos" is a seven-minute ambient horn piece, while closer "Promised Land" is almost nine minutes long.
Seim said in a statement, "The record is about a dream I had where I'm reluctantly accepting a fear of drowning by focusing on being reincarnated as a giant gunnera plant, which thrive on the banks of rivers (specifically the Jordan River i.e. the Biblical promised land) after I paint myself gold and sink to the bottom like the El Dorado of South American folklore."
Scroll past the tracklist below to hear the track "The Ol' River Gang" [via Pitchfork], which is full of urgent electronic textures and lush horns.
The album is available on either black or fancy blue and green vinyl. It's available to pre-order here.
Gunnera:
1. Benthos
2. You Shall Know the Spirit
3. Work for Me
4. El Dorado
5. The Ol' River Gang
6. How to Build a Tube
7. Promised Land
The lineup also includes horn player Dave Nelson, who has backed artists like Sufjan Stevens, as well as David Byrne and St. Vincent. Pfarmers' debut album is called Gunnera and it's due out on May 12 through Jurassic Pop.
According to a press release, the music resembles Seim's solo project Lackthereof "as played by Kraftwerk," with a style that shifts "between catchy pop songs and long instrumental breaks." The album contains a fairly modest seven songs, although some of the tunes are long; opener "Benthos" is a seven-minute ambient horn piece, while closer "Promised Land" is almost nine minutes long.
Seim said in a statement, "The record is about a dream I had where I'm reluctantly accepting a fear of drowning by focusing on being reincarnated as a giant gunnera plant, which thrive on the banks of rivers (specifically the Jordan River i.e. the Biblical promised land) after I paint myself gold and sink to the bottom like the El Dorado of South American folklore."
Scroll past the tracklist below to hear the track "The Ol' River Gang" [via Pitchfork], which is full of urgent electronic textures and lush horns.
The album is available on either black or fancy blue and green vinyl. It's available to pre-order here.
Gunnera:
1. Benthos
2. You Shall Know the Spirit
3. Work for Me
4. El Dorado
5. The Ol' River Gang
6. How to Build a Tube
7. Promised Land
