The New Pornographers just released their tenth studio album, and it delivers everything the band does best. ‘The Former Site Of’ is out now via Merge Records, ten tightly crafted pop songs built around people navigating personal and societal extremes. New single “Votive,” anchored by A.C. Newman’s mandolin and animated by Michael Arthur, grows from a quiet atmospheric opening into something wide and generous. It joins the already acclaimed “Ballad Of The Last Payphone,” which Paste named one of their Best New Songs, praising its “ghostly pedal steel and vocals that swirl like a memory you can’t quite shake.”
The record started in Newman’s home studio before coming to the full band, which includes Kathryn Calder, Neko Case, John Collins, and Todd Fancey. Joining for the first time is storied session drummer Charley Drayton, whose resume runs from the Divinyls to The Rolling Stones to Fiona Apple. Josh Wells of Destroyer and Black Mountain steps in as touring drummer for the spring run. Newman describes the process: “Having time in my studio really opened things up. I can get the skeleton of a song together first, just a couple of elements, the key feeling, really as little as possible, before bringing it to the band and running from there.”
A 23-date North American tour runs through spring with Will Sheff of Okkervil River supporting every date, hitting rooms from Webster Hall in New York to The Castro Theatre in San Francisco to the 9:30 Club in Washington DC.
‘The Former Site Of’ Tracklisting:
- Great Princess Story
- Pure Sticker Shock
- Ballad Of The Last Payphone
- Spooky Action
- Wish You Could See Me I’m Killing It
- Votive
- The Wine Remembers The Water
- Calligraphy
- Bonus Mai Tais
- The Former Site Of
Tour Dates (w/ Will Sheff):
April 22 – Boston, MA – The Wilbur
April 23 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
April 24 – Glenside, PA – Keswick Theatre
April 25 – Rochester, NY – Water Street Music Hall
April 27 – Detroit, MI – El Club
April 29 – Millvale, PA – Mr. Smalls Theatre
April 30 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues
May 1 – Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall
May 2 – Minneapolis, MN – The Fitzgerald Theater
May 3 – Chicago, IL – The Metro
May 5 – Englewood, CO – Gothic Theatre
May 6 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Commonwealth Room
May 8 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox
May 9 – Portland, OR – Aladdin Theater
May 11 – San Francisco, CA – The Castro Theatre
May 12 – Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom
May 13 – Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom
May 15 – Austin, TX – Mohawk Outside
May 16 – Dallas, TX – The Kessler Theater
May 17 – Baton Rouge, LA – Chelsea’s Live
May 19 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
May 20 – Saxapahaw, NC – Haw River Ballroom
May 21 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club