Tortoise Return with 'The Catastrophist', Announce Tour Dates

BY Gregory AdamsPublished Oct 6, 2015

Slow and steady may have been the name of the game, but Chicago post-rock faves Tortoise have announced that they're set to issue their first album in close to seven years. Titled The Catastrophist, the long-running band's seventh LP lands January 22 via Thrill Jockey.

A press release notes that the quintet of Dan Bitney, John Herndon, Doug McCombs, John McEntire and Jeff Parker have got back together again to produce instrumental tunes flirting with various textures of jazz, dub, rock, electronica and more. The groundwork for a new album was laid back in 2010 after the band were commissioned by the City of Chicago to compose music tied to the area's historical jazz and improv roots. These pieces have been remodeled into what now exists as The Catastrophist.

"When we finally got around to talking about a new record, the obvious solution to begin with was to take those pieces and see what else we could do with them," McEntire said of the experience. "It turned out that for them to work for Tortoise, they needed a bit more of a rethink in terms of structure. They're all pretty different in the sense that at first they were just heads and solos. Now, they're orchestrated and complex."

The first preview from the record is "Gesceape," whose title can be translated from archaic, pre-Germanic language as "shape" or "creation." You'll find the synth-heavy twister down below.

Just after The Catastrophist hits stores, Tortoise take off on tour. They play a couple of U.S. shows in January, and then fly over to Europe before starting a full North American tour in March. This portion includes Canadian appearances in Toronto and Montreal.

Tortoise's last record was 2009's Beacons of Ancestorship, but the band's back catalogue was re-released on vinyl in 2012.

The Catastrophist:

1. The Catastrophist
2. Ox Duke
3. Rock On
4. Gopher Island
5. Shake Hands With Danger
6. The Clearing Fills
7. Gesceap
8. Hot Coffee
9. Yonder Blue
10. Tesseract
11. At Odds With Logic

Tour dates:

 01/23 Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall [In The Round performance]
 01/24 Milwaukee, WI - Mad Planet
 02/07 Copenhagen, DK - Vega Jr.
 02/08 Hamburg, DE - Fabrik
 02/09 Berlin, DE - Berghain
 02/10 Antwerpen, BE - Trix
 02/11 Utrecht, NL - Tivoli
 02/12 St. Gallen, CH - Palace
 02/13 Geneva, CH - Antigel Festival
 02/14 Zürich, CH - Stall 6
 02/15 Reutlingen, DE - Franz.K
 02/16 Vienna, AT - Arena
 02/17 Budapest, HU - A 38
 02/18 Zagreb, HR - Mochvara
 02/19 Bologna, IT - Locomotiv Club
 02/20 Rome, IT - Monk Club
 02/21 Milan, IT - Magnolia Club
 03/09 Minneapolis, MN - The Cedar Cultural Center
 03/11 Ann Arbor, MI - The Blind Pig
 03/12 Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
 03/13 Montreal, QC - Fairmount
 03/14 Northampton, MA - Iron Horse
 03/15 Cambridge, MA - The Sinclair
 03/16 New York, NY - (Le) Poisson Rouge
 03/17 Brooklyn, NY - Littlefield
 03/18 Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts
 03/19 Washington, DC - Black Cat
 03/20 Charlottesville, VA - The Southern
 03/22 Louisville, KY - Headliners Music Hall
 03/23 Newport, KY - Southgate House Revival
 03/24 Indianapolis, IN - Radio Radio 

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