Arc Iris's Self-Titled Debut Out Today

Arc Iris's self-titled debut album is out today on Anti-Records and quickly garnering critical acclaim: the New York Times praises the "songs that seesaw between the elfin delicacy of Joanna Newsom and some brassy raucousness" while Rolling Stone hails Jocie Adams's "amazing voice." The Line of Best Fit declares "Arc Iris is traditional music thrillingly positioned at the nexus of the old and new," and The Providence Journal raves "Arc Iris covers a lot of musical territory... there are the folk and country influences...but also classical, jazz, cabaret, doo-wop and rock." The New York Times recently premiered an exclusive advance stream of the album at http://nyti.ms/19UUpB1and the album is available on iTunes at http://bit.ly/1hZJWUF.

The band's new video for "Whiskey Man" recently premiered on Rolling Stone at rol.st/1eaEiNp; it can be streamed on YouTube athttp://youtu.be/-uji7lZHRWg. The video for the band's first single "Singing So Sweetly" premiered at FILTER and is also on YouTube athttp://youtu.be/ttaJByGQ5mo. Arc Iris is currently on tour including headlining shows in New York and Chicago; please see complete dates below.

The eclectic new project from the former Low Anthem member draws on diverse music from Led Zeppelin to Grizzly Bear, from Joni Mitchell to Dirty Projectors, and from Miles Davis to Chopin. Jocie Adams takes center stage, embracing her new role as auteur, creating a genre-bending style that often shifts between cabaret-infused jazz, orchestral sophistication, grimy outlaw country, delicate and whimsical harmonies, and big-band exhilaration. "Arc Iris encapsulates that sense of the future for me," Adams says, "a sign of something beautiful that will hold my hand for a long time." A singer, multi-instrumentalist, classical composer and former NASA researcher, Adams formed the collective with primary musicians Zach Tenorio-Miller (piano), Ray Belli (drums), Max Johnson (bass), Robin Ryczek (cello) and Mike Irwin (trumpet) among others to present her ambitious new songs. The rhythm section has been playing together since high school and cut their teeth at the School of Rock where they shared a stage with musicians such as Slash, Perry Farrell, Andrew WK, Jon Anderson of Yes and the Butthole Surfers. Arc Iris has recently played shows with Calexico, CocoRosie, Marco Benevento, Menomena, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Patrick Watson and Justin Townes Earle.

Adams recorded two albums with the Low Anthem before departing the band to form Arc Iris. The Low Anthem was praised by the New York Times for music that "inhabits its own otherworldly place, where ghosts and angels hover just out of view" and by Under the Radar for how they "flawlessly balance heartfelt warbles with gritty countryside wail."

ARC IRIS TOUR DATES

April 1 Providence, RI Columbus Theater

April 3 Portland, ME Space Gallery

April 5 Bellows Falls, VT Popolo

April 8 New York, NY Mercury Lounge

April 14 Chicago, IL Schubas Tavern

April 16 Vienna, VA Jammin' Java

April 17 Philadelphia, PA Boot & Saddle

photo credit: Shervin Lainez