Romanian Names will be released on May 19th (18th in the U.K.)
The most noteworthy thing about John Vanderslice’s new album is this: Romanian Names it's the best record he’s made to date. The 12 songs represent a career-defining moment, a pitch-perfect collection written and recorded with the utmost care and attention.
Vanderslice is certainly not the first artist to make such a leap several albums into a career – think Guided by Voices on Bee Thousand, Spoon’s Kill the Moonlight or Of Montreal’s Sunlandic Twins. Vanderslice's newest, his first for Dead Oceans, makes that step and separates itself from an already top-notch body of work.
The process of writing Romanian Names differed from that of prior Vanderslice albums. This time, he moved outside the normal (and by now maybe too comfortable) confines of his famed San Francisco recording studio, Tiny Telephone. He constructed a simple basement studio in his home and wrote and recorded the elemental demos for these songs alone with simply a guitar or piano to accompany his voice. The emphasis was placed on melody and structure, putting thoughts of instrumentation and studio wizardry on hold until there was a complete and stable foundation to build upon. The songs were given time to breathe, to be re-worked and reorganized, and sometimes enough time to be thrown out entirely. Benefiting from this organic and evolutionary process, Romanian Names coheres beautifully.
The album is subtle and lush, with a lyrical approach less concerned with narrative and cohesion than previous JV records, leading to a new tone that feels self-assured, natural, and unafraid. The results come in the way of killer sing-along choruses, memorable and punchy hooks, and knock-out atmospherics.
Dead Oceans would like to preview the album with an mp3 of the first song written for the album, “Fetal Horses”.
Romanian Names:
Tremble And Tear
Fetal Horses
C&O Canal
Too Much Time
D.I.A.L.O.
Forest Knolls
Oblivion
Sunken Union Boat
Romanian Names
Carina Constellation
Summer Stock
Hard Times
A coast-to-coast-to-coast tour is in the works following John Vanderslice's Gone Primitive Tour with The Mountain Goats. The tour will kick off in California mid-May. Many more tour dates to be announced in the coming weeks, and British and European fans can expect live dates in the autumn.
5/17/09 Merced, CA - The Partisan
5/19/09 San Francisco, CA - The Rickshaw
5/21/09 Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios
5/22/09 Seattle, WA - Easy Street
5/24/09 George, WA - Sasquatch!
5/27/09 Provo, UT - Velour
5/28/09 Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court
5/29/09 Denver, CO - Hi-Dive
5/30/09 Omaha, NE - Slowdown Jr
6/06/09 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
6/09/09 Pittsburgh, PA - The Warhol Museum
6/12/09 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williambsurg
"[Vanderslice is] a graceful Mothra to Darnielle's skreeonking Godzilla." - Bostonist
John Vanderslice official website
Myspace
Vanderslice is certainly not the first artist to make such a leap several albums into a career – think Guided by Voices on Bee Thousand, Spoon’s Kill the Moonlight or Of Montreal’s Sunlandic Twins. Vanderslice's newest, his first for Dead Oceans, makes that step and separates itself from an already top-notch body of work.
The process of writing Romanian Names differed from that of prior Vanderslice albums. This time, he moved outside the normal (and by now maybe too comfortable) confines of his famed San Francisco recording studio, Tiny Telephone. He constructed a simple basement studio in his home and wrote and recorded the elemental demos for these songs alone with simply a guitar or piano to accompany his voice. The emphasis was placed on melody and structure, putting thoughts of instrumentation and studio wizardry on hold until there was a complete and stable foundation to build upon. The songs were given time to breathe, to be re-worked and reorganized, and sometimes enough time to be thrown out entirely. Benefiting from this organic and evolutionary process, Romanian Names coheres beautifully.
The album is subtle and lush, with a lyrical approach less concerned with narrative and cohesion than previous JV records, leading to a new tone that feels self-assured, natural, and unafraid. The results come in the way of killer sing-along choruses, memorable and punchy hooks, and knock-out atmospherics.
Dead Oceans would like to preview the album with an mp3 of the first song written for the album, “Fetal Horses”.
Romanian Names:
Tremble And Tear
Fetal Horses
C&O Canal
Too Much Time
D.I.A.L.O.
Forest Knolls
Oblivion
Sunken Union Boat
Romanian Names
Carina Constellation
Summer Stock
Hard Times
A coast-to-coast-to-coast tour is in the works following John Vanderslice's Gone Primitive Tour with The Mountain Goats. The tour will kick off in California mid-May. Many more tour dates to be announced in the coming weeks, and British and European fans can expect live dates in the autumn.
5/17/09 Merced, CA - The Partisan
5/19/09 San Francisco, CA - The Rickshaw
5/21/09 Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios
5/22/09 Seattle, WA - Easy Street
5/24/09 George, WA - Sasquatch!
5/27/09 Provo, UT - Velour
5/28/09 Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court
5/29/09 Denver, CO - Hi-Dive
5/30/09 Omaha, NE - Slowdown Jr
6/06/09 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
6/09/09 Pittsburgh, PA - The Warhol Museum
6/12/09 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williambsurg
Praise for the Gone Primitive Tour:
"Vanderslice is a sharp observer with a slanted perspective and whip-smart pop instincts, and his opening set was alluring." - Boston Globe
"His mix of disarming chatter and well executed songs easily kept the attention of an audience that had come out in droves for the main act. His voice was clear, and at times almost soaring." - Examiner"[Vanderslice is] a graceful Mothra to Darnielle's skreeonking Godzilla." - Bostonist
John Vanderslice official website
Myspace
