Today we release the second single from Twin Peaks‘  forthcoming Lookout Low (coming 9/13!). It’s called “Ferry Song,” and it’s a huge leap forward for resident Peaks wunderkind Colin Croom. He wrote the track in Spring of 2018 in New Orleans, staying at Algiers Point and taking the ferry to the city each day. The official audio upload on YouTube is built from archival footage shot in New Orleans in the 60s. This one waltzes with guitar and ramshackle brass, and Colin finds a part of his vocal range he’s only hinted at before. But that’s enough from us. Just press play above. 

And a reminder: you can pre-order the album in our shop right now or snag tickets to the band’s upcoming tour over on the artist page.

Today, Column release their debut 7”, “I & II.” To celebrate the release, they follow-up the black and white Alex Leeds-helmed video for “II,” with the A-side of the 7”. The “I” video, premiered this morning over on Alt Citizen, finds a robed-Column performing deep in the woods, as our wandering protagonist sets out on a journey in search of answers. It was directed by Tim Nagle and is exactly as trippy as it sounds. Pick up the 7″ over in our shop, or stream the tunes wherever you do that sort of thing.

We are elated to announce Twin Peaks’ new album, Lookout Low, due September 13th via Grand Jury. Where their last LP, 2016’s Down In Heaven, and 2017’s Sweet ‘17 Singles compilation were adventurous and compelling updates on their youthfully raucous formula, their fourth album, Lookout Low feels like a total revolution. Their most deliberate and seamless record yet, the album is a collaborative triumph, propelled forward by Twin Peak’s near-decade-long bond. 

For Lookout Low, the five of them – guitarists Cadien Lake James and Clay Frankel, bassist Jack Dolan, multi-instrumentalist Colin Croom, and drummer Connor Brodner – committed to work countless hours in their studio and practice space. Meeting daily, they demoed 27 songs and relentlessly rehearsed them, eventually whittling down to a select ten tracks. The album was recorded at Monnow Valley with legendary producer Ethan Johns (Paul McCartney, U2, Kings of Leon), who lauds Twin Peaks as “the best Rock and Roll band I’ve heard for a very long time.” Already a well-oiled live unit, the band’s mission was to capture the exhilarating vibe of their shows. Often, they thrived on the thrill of live recording, going with the magic of the original first take. This life-affirming burst of adrenaline seeps into every facet of the LP. 

Each individual member of the band upped their songwriting for the LP. These tracks are their most impressive offering yet – confident, experimentative, and bursting with energy. Throughout, Croom wrote horn arrangements that at times evoke the soulfulness of Allen Toussaint and the burly Americana of the E Street Band. The auxiliary percussion from drummer Kyle Davis expands the already breezy and expansive compositions. OHMME’s Macie Stewart and Sima Cunningham contribute their spectral harmonies on seven of the 10 tracks.

Lead single / video “Dance Through It,” a horn-infused, soul-inflected swing, champions the energy found across the album. The video was directed by Ariel Fisher and Léo Schrepel in Berlin. “Writing and arranging ‘Dance Through It’ felt like a dive into and embrace of experimenting with a new palette for us,” says James. “After having been directly involved in the creation and direction of all of our videos, it felt fitting to allow this song the breath of collaboration in having Ariel Fisher take the helm and run with it.”

“Working with Twin Peaks on this visual concept felt synergetic,” says Fisher. “We shared a mutual love for the film Fallen Angels and wanted to tell a story where the camera angles and lenses gradually shift as the narrative progresses. We wanted the viewer to become the participant, as we step into the actress’s shoes and begin to see the world as she sees it.” 

In conjunction with today’s announcement, the band expands their North American tour. They will bring their live shows across the states, including to Chicago’s Riviera Theatre (the band’s biggest hometown headline show to date), Los Angeles’ Teragram Ballroom, and New York’s Webster Hall, in addition to dual shows at Nashville’s Basement East, Boston’s The Sinclair, and more. Tickets for newly-announced shows (full itinerary below) are on sale this Friday, July 19th at 10 AM local time, when they’ll be available over on the Twin Peaks artist page. 

Fans can pre-order Lookout Low starting today. The standard version is available over in the GJ shop. Two different exclusive color pressings are available for pre-order via indie record shops. When US fans pre-order at participating stores they’ll get a “Dance Through It” 7″, which features an unreleased song on the B-side, and will be able to return to the point of purchase to pick up Lookout Low on September 13th. The album is available on Orange Swirl LP, pictured above, or on a Chicago-area exclusive Electric Blue LP, pictured below. A full list of participating stores is available here.

The Chicago exclusive version will be available in the following Chicago-area indie retail locations:

Shuga, Reckless, 606 Records, Bric-A-Brac, Pinwheel, Groovin High, Hip Cat, Kiss The Sky, Laurie’s Planet of Sound, Mile Long, Oak Park, Old School, Ragged Records & Music, Rattleback, Rediscover & Rolling Stone.

TWIN PEAKS TOUR DATES:
Sun. July 21 – Toronto, ON @ Echo Beach ~
Tue. July 23 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade
Thu. Sept. 12 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre *
Fri. Sept. 13 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom *
Sat. Sept. 14 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall *
Thu. Sept. 19 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom *
Fri. Sept. 20 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Cafe *
Sat. Sept. 21 – East Moline, IL @ The Rust Belt *
Tue. Oct. 8 – Berlin, DE @ Musik und Frieden &
Wed. Oct. 9 – Hamburg, DE @ Molotow Musikclub &
Fri. Oct. 11 – Rotterdam, NL @ Rotown &
Sat. Oct. 12 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
Mon. Oct. 14 – Cologne, DE @ MTC &
Tue. Oct. 15 – Paris, FR @ La Boule Noire &
Wed. Oct. 16 – London, UK @ Dome Tufnell Park &
Fri. Oct. 18 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club &
Sat. Oct. 19 – Oxford, UK @ Ritual Union
Sun. Oct. 20 – Cardiff, UK @ SWN Festival
Wed. Oct. 30 – Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall #
Thu. Oct. 31 – St. Louis, MO @ The Ready Room #
Fri. Nov. 1 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room #
Sat. Nov. 2 – Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre #
Tue. Nov. 5 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall #
Thu. Nov. 7 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos #
Fri. Nov. 8 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom #
Sat. Nov. 9 – Vancouver, BC @ Venue Nightclub #
Wed. Nov. 13 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall #
Fri. Nov. 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom @
Sat. Nov. 16 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern #
Mon. Nov. 18 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom #
Thu. Nov. 21 – Dallas, TX @ Deep Ellum Art Co. #
Fri. Nov. 22 – Houston, TX @ Satellite Bar #
Sat. Nov. 23 – Austin, TX @ The Mohawk #
Fri. Nov. 29 – Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre
Wed. Dec. 4 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground Ballroom ^
Thu. Dec. 5 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair (early) @
Thu. Dec. 5 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair (late) !
Fri. Dec. 6 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall ^
Tue. Dec. 10 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer ^
Wed. Dec. 11 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat ^
Thu. Dec. 12 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle ^
Fri. Dec. 13 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse ^
Sat. Dec. 14 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement East ^
Sun. Dec. 15 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement East ^

~ = w/ PUP
* = w/ Slow Pulp and Dehd
& = w/ Dehd
# = w/ Post Animal & OHMME
^ = w/ Lala Lala & OHMME
! = w/ Lala Lala
@ = w/ OHMME

Today Hippo Campus share Demos II, a collection of new songs written and recorded over the summer of 2017 and the winter of 2018. The new material came to life during the sessions around the band’s most recent album Bambi. The nine song mini-album includes fan favorites and live staples like “No Poms,” “Chapstick,” and “Joy.”

The release follows that of Demos I — eight early versions of Bambi songs — which took fans into the world of Hippo Campus’ creative process and demonstrated how the band crafted their latest album. Demos II is available to buy or stream here.

After epic performances at The Governor’s Ball, Bonnaroo, and Firefly, the band recently headed out on tour with The Heart and The Heart, a run peppered with appearances at Hinterland and VooDoo Festival this summer. Tickets over on the artist page.

In February 2017, Twin Peaks took fellow Chicagoans Post Animal on a short tour of Michigan. Within a month, and on the tails of their budding friendships, Cadien moved into a home with all five members of the band: Dalton Allison, Jake Hirshland, Javi Reyes, Matt Williams, and Wes Toledo.

Now roommates, Cadien and Javi wrote songs together, experimenting with open tunings and finger picking in ways neither had in their other bands, channeling John Fahey and Nick Drake through a lens more familiar to them. They quickly recorded a few instrumentals on a 50s’ portable reel to reel tape machine, with Wes playing drums, Matt playing bass, Jake playing synthesizer and guitar, and Dalton triggering nature sounds. And so Column was born.

It wasn’t until January of 2019 that the words were written and swiftly tracked. Mixed and mastered by good friend R. Andrew Humphry, “I” & “II,” the first entries in the Column story were written. Today, Stereogum premiered “II,” the band’s first public offering, accompanied by a black and white, straight-to-VHS (literally) video, directed by the band, and shot and edited by Alex Leeds. “It’s a sweet and welcoming clip that bolsters the message of the group’s plucky, harmonized tune,” says Sgum’s Connor Duffey.

Pre-order the 7″, available August 16th via Grand Jury, over on Bandcamp.

Hippo Campus surprised fans tonight when they released Demos I, an eight-song digital album comprised of early and alternate versions of Bambi songs. “During the tail end of the landmark writing sessions we began to demo out recordings on our own for the first time,” says Hippo’s Jake Luppen. “This was one of the driving forces behind the making of Bambi. Many of the tracks changed pretty drastically from demo to record. We hope that it will help the listener understand our creative process and how much things change from square one.”

After an epic performance at The Governor’s Ball earlier this month, the band recently announced they will be joining The Heart and The Heart later this summer as well as playing several major festivals including Bonnaroo, Firefly, Hinterland, VooDoo Festival and more. Tickets over on the Hippo artist page.

The latest video from Hippo Campus was unveiled this morning, alongside another(!) run of US dates in support of Bambi. It’s fitting then that the video, directed by Brittany O’Brien, is a compilation of footage shot along the previous legs of the band’s seemingly never-ending Bambi tour. Tickets available later this week over on their artist page.

This just in: Twin Peaks have announced a handful of dates across the globe for later this fall. We’ll have much more news to share soon, but in the meantime these calendar additions are going to have to tide you over. Tickets available later this week here.

Samia has been busy. After releasing her double A-side single, “Lasting Friend” / “Paris,” back in January, she jumped on the road with Donna Missal in February, turned heads at SXSW in March, then joined her label mates Hippo Campus on another leg of their Bambi tour in April & May. Today she’s back with “Ode to Artifice,” a new single and music video (featuring a cameo from Mary Louise Parker) directed by Nick D’Agostino. The video just debuted over on Consequence of Sound, as part of their recurring Origins feature.

“The New York singer offers more than poignant confessional lyrics,” says CoS’s Ming Lee Newcombe. “She also crafts striking compositions, which range from dramatic, wailing folk ballads backed by simple piano or acoustic guitar accompaniments to gritty and grungy rock anthems. Always at the forefront is her crystalline voice, carrying each number with its deft transitions between ranges and its emotional power.” 

Of the video, Samia says, “‘Ode to Artifice’ is a desperate plea; my authentic self is lusting after my stage/party persona and begging her to merge. Nick D’agostino and I decided to tell the story of a girl who spends weeks obsessing over the way she’ll present herself at prom, only to discover that she is grossly underdressed compared to the more colorful and popular version of herself who is thriving at the event.”

The video and single come only a few short weeks before a pair of headline shows, one at Rough Trade in Brooklyn, NY and another at Bootleg Theatre in Los Angeles. Tickets over on her Artist page. As anyone who caught her with Donna or Hippo can attest, you don’t want to miss these shows.

Today Baby Boys released the new music vide for I’m Set standout “Wannabe.” Directed by Ethan Nelson, who helmed the “Kinky Toe” video as well, it features hip hop dancer Rachel Wilson and was shot on location in Holy Land USA up in Waterbury, CT.