Protomartyr have returned with details of a new album. The American post-punks will release fifth studio LP Ultimate Success Today on May 29 through Domino. Already, though, the group have mapped out a North American tour in support of the record and given us its first single.
The follow-up to 2017's Relatives in Descent, Ultimate Success Today was co-produced by Protomartyr and David Tolomei. The album is made up of 10 tracks and features contributions from Half Waif, saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm and multi-instrumentalist Izaak Mills.
Speaking of the album, singer Joe Casey said the following:
The re-release of our first album had me thinking about the passage of time and its ultimate conclusion. Listening to No Passion All Technique again, I could hear myself hoping for an introduction and a long future, but also being cognizant that it could be 'one and done' for us. So, when it came time to write Ultimate Success Today, I was reminded of that first urgency and how it was an inverse of my current grapple with how terribly ill I've been feeling lately. Was that sick feeling colouring how I felt about the state of the world or was it the other way around?
This panic was freeing in a way. It allowed me to see our fifth album as a possible valediction of some confusingly loud five-act play. In the same light I see it as an interesting mile marker of our first decade of being a band — a crest of the hill along a long highway. Although just to cover my bases, I made sure to get my last words in while I still had the breath to say them.
Single "Processed by the Boys" has been shared alongside the announcement, complete with a David Allen and Nathan Faustyn-directed music video you can find below.
On top of all this, Protomartyr have also mapped out a summer tour in support of the album, with a North American leg beginning June 1 in Toronto at Lee's Palace. The band will then hit Montreal's Bar Le Ritz the following evening on June 2.
Find the band's full tour schedule, as well as the album's tracklist, below.
Ultimate Success Today is now available for pre-order.
Ultimate Success Today:
1. Day Without End
2. Processed By The Boys
3. I Am You Now
4. The Aphorist
5. June 21
6. Michigan Hammers
7. Tranquilizer
8. Modern Business Hymns
9. Bridge & Crown
10. Worm In Heaven
Tour dates:
03/12 Chicago, IL - Sleeping Village
03/13 Kalamazoo, MI - Bell's Eccentric Cafe
03/14 Columbus, OH - Melted Festival
04/27 London, UK - Peckham Audio
04/28 London, UK - The Lexington
04/29 Paris, FR - La Boule Noire
04/30 Utrecht, NL - Ekko
05/02 Berlin, DE - Ubran Spree
05/03 Berlin, DE - Urban Spree
05/04 Groningen, NL - Vera
05/05 Brussels, BE - Nuits Botanique
06/01 Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
06/02 Montreal, QC - Bar Le Ritz PDB
06/03 Boston, MA - Sinclair
06/04 Brooklyn, NY - Elsewhere
06/06 Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts
06/07 Washington, DC - Black Cat
06/09 Raleigh, NC - Kings
06/10 Atlanta, GA - Earl
06/11 New Orleans, LA - Gasa Gasa
06/12 Dallas, TX - Club Dada
06/15 Tucson, AZ - Hotel Congress
06/16 Phoenix, AZ - Rebel Lounge
06/17 San Diego, CA - Casbah
06/18 Los Angeles, CA - Lodge Room
06/19 Los Angeles, CA - Lodge Room
06/20 Oakland, CA - Starline Social Club
06/22 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
06/23 Seattle, WA - Crocodile
06/26 Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry
06/27 Milwaukee, WI - Cactus Club
06/28 Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall
The follow-up to 2017's Relatives in Descent, Ultimate Success Today was co-produced by Protomartyr and David Tolomei. The album is made up of 10 tracks and features contributions from Half Waif, saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm and multi-instrumentalist Izaak Mills.
Speaking of the album, singer Joe Casey said the following:
The re-release of our first album had me thinking about the passage of time and its ultimate conclusion. Listening to No Passion All Technique again, I could hear myself hoping for an introduction and a long future, but also being cognizant that it could be 'one and done' for us. So, when it came time to write Ultimate Success Today, I was reminded of that first urgency and how it was an inverse of my current grapple with how terribly ill I've been feeling lately. Was that sick feeling colouring how I felt about the state of the world or was it the other way around?
This panic was freeing in a way. It allowed me to see our fifth album as a possible valediction of some confusingly loud five-act play. In the same light I see it as an interesting mile marker of our first decade of being a band — a crest of the hill along a long highway. Although just to cover my bases, I made sure to get my last words in while I still had the breath to say them.
Single "Processed by the Boys" has been shared alongside the announcement, complete with a David Allen and Nathan Faustyn-directed music video you can find below.
On top of all this, Protomartyr have also mapped out a summer tour in support of the album, with a North American leg beginning June 1 in Toronto at Lee's Palace. The band will then hit Montreal's Bar Le Ritz the following evening on June 2.
Find the band's full tour schedule, as well as the album's tracklist, below.
Ultimate Success Today is now available for pre-order.
Ultimate Success Today:
1. Day Without End
2. Processed By The Boys
3. I Am You Now
4. The Aphorist
5. June 21
6. Michigan Hammers
7. Tranquilizer
8. Modern Business Hymns
9. Bridge & Crown
10. Worm In Heaven
Tour dates:
03/12 Chicago, IL - Sleeping Village
03/13 Kalamazoo, MI - Bell's Eccentric Cafe
03/14 Columbus, OH - Melted Festival
04/27 London, UK - Peckham Audio
04/28 London, UK - The Lexington
04/29 Paris, FR - La Boule Noire
04/30 Utrecht, NL - Ekko
05/02 Berlin, DE - Ubran Spree
05/03 Berlin, DE - Urban Spree
05/04 Groningen, NL - Vera
05/05 Brussels, BE - Nuits Botanique
06/01 Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
06/02 Montreal, QC - Bar Le Ritz PDB
06/03 Boston, MA - Sinclair
06/04 Brooklyn, NY - Elsewhere
06/06 Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts
06/07 Washington, DC - Black Cat
06/09 Raleigh, NC - Kings
06/10 Atlanta, GA - Earl
06/11 New Orleans, LA - Gasa Gasa
06/12 Dallas, TX - Club Dada
06/15 Tucson, AZ - Hotel Congress
06/16 Phoenix, AZ - Rebel Lounge
06/17 San Diego, CA - Casbah
06/18 Los Angeles, CA - Lodge Room
06/19 Los Angeles, CA - Lodge Room
06/20 Oakland, CA - Starline Social Club
06/22 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
06/23 Seattle, WA - Crocodile
06/26 Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry
06/27 Milwaukee, WI - Cactus Club
06/28 Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall