STREAM: “Roll Forever”
VIDEO: “Get Gone”
White Arrows will release its debut LP, Dry Land Is Not A Myth on Votiv on June 19, the band premiered a new single, “Roll Forever” over at Stereogum today, and the track is also now available as a digital single at iTunes.
The band also recently announced a slew of new tour dates, including a North American tour with Beat Connection that will take up most of June and July. Before the June / July tour the band launches its first major European tour where they’ll be opening for White Denim, Friends and Oberhofer.
Bio:
White Arrows may never divulge the source of their strange magic, but it’s hard not to picture a mystic dance floor hidden in the midst of a tropical rainforest. The Los Angeles band stands at these balmy crossroads like a vision from an alternate reality: classic without leaning on nostalgia, visionary but not unfamiliar. What should be a collision of sounds and styles-ritualistic rhythm and four-four thump, synth sequences and strummed guitars, garage-y grind and airy atmosphere-is, in this quintet’s capable hands, a fluidly seething whole. Call it Psychotropical pop, something both busy and breezy. Call it Paul Simon in space (others have). Call it what you will. This is White Arrows.
The White Arrows story begins with a blind boy. Singer Mickey Church was born seeing the world as an impressionistic smear. His vision was righted at age 11, but his imagination ran wild for the intervening years. Since he couldn’t make out those around him, he assumed they couldn’t see him either. He rode made-up horses and sung songs that didn’t exist. His memory of growing up in L.A. is confined to smells, sounds and swaths of fuzzy color. Mickey’s father, a student of African percussion, encouraged him and his little brother Henry to pick up instruments as kids, so they played what was around. With family back east, Mickey eventually left for NYU, and unexpectedly wound up with a degree in shamanistic ritual.
Mickey’s studies led him to examine the thin line that separates genius from insanity in art, and inspired him to create music that blurred familiar borders. In a Bowery basement, he made what would become the White Arrows EP-demos that took on new life once he returned home. Soon, Henry picked up the sticks. Their old friend J.P. Caballero joined on guitar, with Andrew Naeve on keys and beats, and Steven Vernet on bass. The five bonded over a shared love for sensory overload both aural and visual-essential to the White Arrows live show. And with only a 7-inch to sell, they toured with Cults, Those Darlins, and the Naked and Famous, played Sasquatch, opened for Weezer, and held residencies at home and in London.
Late last year, however, the guys decided it was time to slow down. They’ve since been holed up in L.A.’s canyon country recording the songs that will make up their debut LP. Inspired by RAC’s propulsive dance mix of their angular banger, “Coming Or Going,” they challenged the Portland remix geniuses to produce the entire White Arrows album. RAC agreed, and the first fruits of their labors come via a March digital EP led by “Get Gone,” the kaleidoscopic single that pits Mickey’s transcendent croon against a bursting blend of elements both organic and electronic. When all’s said and done, you’ll be as likely to find White Arrows playing Coachella as Electric Daisy Carnival. In either case, expect to sweat.
Tour Dates
5/10 Brighton, UK The Great Escape at Sticky Mike’s
5/11 London, UK Club NME, Koko
5/12 Den Hague Walk The Line Festival
5/13 Berlin, Germany Comet Club &
5/14 Munich, Germany Orangehouse &
5/15 Paris, France Nouveau Casino (Neon Gold Popshop Paris)
5/16 Paris, France La Maroquinerie +
5/18 Liverpool, UK Sound City, The Kazimier %
5/19 Glasgow, UK Stag & Dagger, Glasgow at Art School Union
5/21 Bristol, UK Bristol O2 Academy, Bristol %
5/22 London, UK HMV Forum %
5/23 Manchester, UK The Ritz %
5/24 Leeds, UK The Cockpit %
5/26 Brussels AB Club %
5/27 Groningen, Vera %
5/28 Nijmegen, Doornroosje %
5/29 Amsterdam, Melkweg %
6/14 San Francisco, CA Rickshaw Stop (Popscene) #$
6/15 Santa Cruz, CA The Catalyst #$
6/16 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour #$
6/17 San Diego, CA Casbah #$
6/18 Phoenix, AZ Rhythm Room #$
6/19 El Paso, TX Low Brow Palace
6/20 Dallas, TX La Grange #
6/21 Austin, TX Red 7 #
6/22 Houston, TX Fitzgerald’s #
6/23 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon #
6/26 Tampa, FL The Orpheum #
6/27 Miami, FL Bardot #
6/28 Orlando, FL Will’s Pub #
6/29 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade (Hell’s Stage) #
6/30 Raleigh, NC King’s Barcade #
7/01 Washington DC DC9 #
7/03 Philadelphia, PA Kung Fu Necktie #
7/04 New Haven, CT BAR Night Club #
7/05 Brooklyn, NY Knitting Factory #*
7/06 Cambridge, MA TT The Bears #*
7/07 Montreal, QC Ill Motore #*
7/08 Toronto, ON Drake Hotel #*
7/10 Pittsburgh, PA Brillobox #*
7/11 Cleveland, OH Grog Shop #*
7/12 Chicago, IL Schubas Tavern #*
7/13 Detroit, MI Majestic Café #*
7/14 Milwaukee, WI The Cactus Club #*
7/15 Minneapolis, MN 7th St Entry #*
7/17 Denver, CO Hi Dive #*
7/18 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court #*
7/19 Boise, ID Reef Boise #*
7/20 Portland, OR Bunk Bar
7/21 Seattle, WA Capitol Hill Block Party
7/22 Vancouver, BC Media Club #*
7/28 Sacramento, CA LAUNCH Festival
% = w/ White Denim
& = w/ Oberhofer
+ = w/ Friends
# = w/ Beat Connection
$ = w/ Mmoths
* = w/ Teen Daze
White Arrows
Dry Land Is Not A Myth
(Votiv Music)
Street Date: June 19, 2012
1. Roll Forever
2. Get Gone
3. Coming or Going
4. I Can Go
5. Golden
6. Little Birds
7. Sail On
8. Getting Lost
9. Settle Down
10. Fireworks of the Sea
Links: Official Site//Facebook//Twitter