The New Pornographers Return with 'Brill Bruisers'

BY Alex HudsonPublished Jun 10, 2014

Within the past few years, we've seen solo efforts from A.C. Newman, Dan Bejar (as Destroyer), Neko Case and Kathryn Calder. Now, they're all back together as part of the New Pornographers, and they have a new LP in tow. Brill Bruisers is due out on August 26 through Matador in the U.S. and Last Gang Records here in Canada.

The album was produced by Newman and band member John Collins. Recording primarily took place at Little Blue in Woodstock, NY, and at JC/DC Studios in Vancouver, with additional sessions in Austin, Brooklyn and Vermont.

While leader A.C. Newman's last solo effort, Shut Down the Streets, was his most restrained effort to date, this album apparently finds him returning to more upbeat sounds. In a statement, he said, "This is a celebration record. After periods of difficulty, I am at a place where nothing in my life is dragging me down and the music reflects that. I'm grateful."

See the album cover above and the tracklist below. Scroll down to see the New Pornographers' upcoming tour schedule; most of the dates are in the U.S., but there are a few Canadian festival gigs in the summer.

For a taste of what's in store, head to the bottom of the page to hear the bombastic title track and play around with the pretty damn cool interactive cover art. Additionally, the album is available to pre-order in limited edition "paint splattered" vinyl; while supplies last, the records come with a 3D poster and 3D glasses.

On top of the album announcement, the New Pornographers have lined up a North American tour, which you can see below the record's tracklist. Besides a lot of U.S. dates, there a handful of Canadian festival appearances.

Brill Bruisers:

1. Brill Bruisers
2. Champions of Red Wine
3. Fantasy Fools
4. War on the East Coast
5. Backstairs
6. Marching Orders
7. Another Drug Deal of the Heart
8. Born with a Sound
9. Wide Eyes
10. Dancehall Domine
11. Spidyr
12. Hi-Rise
13. You Tell Me Where

Tour dates:

07/18-20 Pemberton, BC - Pemberton Music Festival
08/29-31 Edmonton, AB - Sonic Boom Festival
08/31 Edmonton, AB - Edmonton Northlands
09/06 Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre
09/06-07 Toronto, ON - Riot Fest
10/05-06 Seattle, WA - The Showbox
10/08 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
10/09 Boise, ID - Knitting Factory
10/10 Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot
10/11 Denver, CO - Gothic Theatre
10/13 Phoenix, AZ - The Crescent Ballroom
10/14 Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre
10/15 Pioneertown, CA - Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace
10/17 Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
10/18 San Diego, CA - North Park Theatre
11/04 Nashville, TN - Cannery Ballroom
11/05 Asheville, NC - Orange Peel
11/06 Atlanta, GA - Buckhead Theatre
11/07 New Orleans, LA - Civic Theatre
11/07-09 Austin, TX - Fun Fun Fun Fest
11/10 St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
11/11 Omaha, NE - Slowdown
11/13 Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater
11/14 Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre
11/15 Cleveland, OH - House of Blues
11/17 New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom
11/19 Boston, MA - House of Blues
11/20 Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
11/21 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
11/23 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle

Read our recent Timeline on the New Pornographers here.

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