While melodic punk vets Strike Anywhere have yet to deliver any new material since 2009's Iron Front, the band are about to drop a slightly smoother collection in the form of a acoustic live album called In Defiance of Empty Times. Bridge 9 will deliver the set on CD, LP and digital download on August 14.
A press release explains that the collection is made up of two separate unplugged performances the act undertook in 2011, with the first half recorded in Rochester, NY, and the back end taken from a gig in Richmond, VA. Frontman Thomas Barnett explained that these quieter takes may be stripped of the distorted punkiness of the originals, but the band brought out something unique through the reworks.
"There is urgency and melancholy and a clarity of purpose bubbling up out of those acoustic performances that can sometimes get lost or sidelined in the headlong rush of a hardcore show," he said in a statement. "We'd been doing one-off acoustic shows for years, to benefit causes we support, and just to play our music in a different, and maybe less commodified context. But last summer, we found ourselves really working out new arrangements and discovering new details in the songs as we prepared for these two events."
While the band enjoyed the acoustic sojourn, they'll be hitting up Australia this summer, alongside tourmate Anti-Flag and the Flatliners, with amps blazing. You can see those dates below.
In Defiance of Empty Times:
1. We Amplify/Blaze
2. Infared
3. Hollywood Cemetery
4. I'm Your Opposite Number
5. Chorus of One
6. Postcards from Home
7. Timebomb Generation
8. Orphan Age
9. Prisoner Echoes
10. Extinguish
11. Sunset on 32nd
Tour dates:
5/24 Perth, Australia - Capitol ^
5/25 Adelaide, Australia - Fowlers ^
5/26 Melbourne, Australia - Northcote Social Club
5/27 Melbourne, Australia - Hi-Fi Bar ^
5/30 Brisbane, Australia - The Zoo ^
5/31 Gold Coast, Australia - Coolangatta Hotel ^
6/1 Sydney, Australia - Manning Bar ^
6/2 Wollongong, Australia - Uni Bar ^
^ with Anti-Flag, the Flatliners
A press release explains that the collection is made up of two separate unplugged performances the act undertook in 2011, with the first half recorded in Rochester, NY, and the back end taken from a gig in Richmond, VA. Frontman Thomas Barnett explained that these quieter takes may be stripped of the distorted punkiness of the originals, but the band brought out something unique through the reworks.
"There is urgency and melancholy and a clarity of purpose bubbling up out of those acoustic performances that can sometimes get lost or sidelined in the headlong rush of a hardcore show," he said in a statement. "We'd been doing one-off acoustic shows for years, to benefit causes we support, and just to play our music in a different, and maybe less commodified context. But last summer, we found ourselves really working out new arrangements and discovering new details in the songs as we prepared for these two events."
While the band enjoyed the acoustic sojourn, they'll be hitting up Australia this summer, alongside tourmate Anti-Flag and the Flatliners, with amps blazing. You can see those dates below.
In Defiance of Empty Times:
1. We Amplify/Blaze
2. Infared
3. Hollywood Cemetery
4. I'm Your Opposite Number
5. Chorus of One
6. Postcards from Home
7. Timebomb Generation
8. Orphan Age
9. Prisoner Echoes
10. Extinguish
11. Sunset on 32nd
Tour dates:
5/24 Perth, Australia - Capitol ^
5/25 Adelaide, Australia - Fowlers ^
5/26 Melbourne, Australia - Northcote Social Club
5/27 Melbourne, Australia - Hi-Fi Bar ^
5/30 Brisbane, Australia - The Zoo ^
5/31 Gold Coast, Australia - Coolangatta Hotel ^
6/1 Sydney, Australia - Manning Bar ^
6/2 Wollongong, Australia - Uni Bar ^
^ with Anti-Flag, the Flatliners