The Drums will return to the UK later this year for a full headline tour in support of their second album, ‘Portamento’, out September 5th through Moshi Moshi / Island Records.
For the week of album release, the band plays three intimate, sold out, launch shows in London to preview the new record.
NEW UK HEADLINE DATES:
Mon 28-Nov Birmingham Institute The Library
Tue 29-Nov Newcastle O2 Academy
Wed 30-Nov Leeds Metropolitan University
Sat 03-Dec Glasgow O2 ABC
Sun 04-Dec Edinburgh Picture House
Mon 05-Dec Cambridge Junction
Tue 06-Dec Portsmouth Pyramids Centre
Thu 08-Dec Bristol O2 Academy
Fri 09-Dec London O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
Sat 10-Dec Manchester Ritz
(All tickets £13.50 except London £15)
Artist presale via http://thedrums.com/shows/ on Weds 17th August
General on sale: Fri 19th August
PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED DATES:
Mon 05-Sep London Hoxton Bar & Kitchen SOLD OUT
Tue 06-Sep London Lexington SOLD OUT
Wed 07-Sep London XOYO SOLD OUT
08-11-Sep Bestival
Sat 17-Sep Split Festival Sunderland
Last week the New York trio also uploaded a remix of Portamento’s lead single ‘Money’ by Seattle electronic duo Beat Connection. It can be downloaded for free here:
The remix follows the M Blash (known for his videos for Final Fantasy/Owen Pallett & writing and directing the Cannes-screened feature Lying) directed video for the original single, which has been heavily blogged over the past couple of weeks.
See the video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqYgNiZdfh4
Explaining the change in mood for this video, The Drums vocalist Jonny Pierce says “things have become more personal this time around. Stylistically, things have evolved a bit, but the real change has been subject matter. On our first EP and album we used a lot if surrealism and really romanticized everything. Portamento is rooted in honesty.”
‘Portamento’– released just over a year since their debut – reveals a band tugging lightly at the boundaries of their sound while still retaining their recognizable sonic signatures. Sweet rushes of melody and brittle synthesizer sheens colliding with wiry Spector-esque guitar lines are still very much present, but singer, Jonny Pierce’s lyrics have assumed a deeper, personal tone and coupled with the band’s own more expansive production, ‘Portamento’ is a more complex, but ultimately more rewarding listen than their debut.
To accommodate the record’s sonic expansiveness, the band has swollen to a quintet live, augmented by two auxiliary members including good friend Myles Matheny on guitar and bass. Also gone are the backing tracks used for the bulk of their live shows to date, thus lending their performances a more visceral, spontaneous feel, in line with the aesthetic of the new album.
The Drums play a string of intimate London album release shows next month, all of which collectively sold out less than 15 minutes after going on sale.
The Drums are:
Jonny Pierce – vocals, guitars
Jacob Graham – synths
Connor Hanwick – guitar
