Yamantaka/Sonic Titan Release First Single Since 2013; Announce Tour
By: Caryn Robbins Jan. 15, 2018
Noh-Wave prog collective Yamantaka // Sonic Titan has unveiled the first track from their forthcoming third album, DIRT. The four-minute single, "Someplace," is netted with quivery fingerpicked guitars and ethereal vocals, lurching toward a climactic prog frenzy. Listen to the track today via FADER.
Yamantaka // Sonic Titan were never ones to fit neatly into one category-or even one artistic discipline. Functioning chiefly as a Noh-Wave prog collective, YT//ST also operates as a black-and-white (and sometimes red) theatre company, an operatic psych cult, and the speculative prophets of humanity's impending doom. Above it all, though, they're a thunderous rock band, a statement they will be calcifying with the release of DIRT. "Someplace" serves as indisputable evidence of YT//ST's commitment to craft.
"'Someplace' is about being in a situation that is familiar but isn't really serving you or giving you purpose," the band said of the track. "Wanting to move on, to blast past your old concerns and go on. You'd rather be someplace new and potentially dangerous than accept the slow decay of the situation you're already in. It's time to go faster, to get more and go further."
DIRT is YT//ST's followup to 2013's wildly acclaimed UZU, their second straight to be shortlisted for the Polaris Prize as one of the best Canadian albums of the year. Like its predecessor, DIRT takes place on the planet Pureland, now 10,000 years following a devastating flood. Never abandoning their irreverent edge and narrative flair, DIRT masterfully combines Buddhist principles with classic sci-fi themes to show how humanity continues to succumb to its worst impulses: madness, hubris and greed.
DIRT is due out via Paper Bag Records on March 23 and can be preordered here. Catch Yamantaka // Sonic Titan on the road beginning this March; more news to come.
DIRT, TRACK LISTING:
1. Karonhiake
2. Someplace
3. Dark Waters
4. Yanders
5. The Decay
6. Beast
7. Hungry Ghost
8. Dirt
9. Tawine
10. Out Of Time
YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN - ON TOUR
March 14, 15, 16 @ SXSW (Austin, TX)
Saturday, March 17 @ Gasa Gasa (New Orleans, LA)
Sunday, March 18 @ The Earl (Atlanta, GA)
Monday, March 19 @ Duke University (Durham, NC)
Tuesday, March 20 @ Union (Washington D.C.)
Thursday, March 22 @ The Sound Hole (Philadelphia, PA)
Saturday, March 24 @ Baby's All Right (Brooklyn, NY)
Sunday, March 25 @ Middle East (Cambridge, MA)
Tuesday, March 27 @ L'Escogriffe (Montreal, QC)
Wednesday, March 28 @ L'Anti (Québec City, QC)
Thursday, March 29 @ Baby G's (Toronto, ON)
Friday, March 30 @ Refined Fool Brewing Co. (Sarnia, ON)
Saturday, March 31 @ Cactus Club (Milwaukee, WI)
Sunday, April 1 @ 7th Street Entry (Minneapolis, MN)
Monday, April 2 @ Handsome Daughter (Winnipeg, MB)
Wednesday, April 4 @ Amigos (Saskatoon, SK)
Thursday, April 5 @ Starlite Room - Lower Hall (Edmonton, AB)
Friday, April 6 @ The Palomino (Calgary, AB)
Saturday, April 7 @ The Bartlett (Spokane, WA)
Sunday, April 8 @ Vera (Seattle, WA)
Monday, April 9 @ Doug Fir Lounge (Portland, OR)
Tuesday, April 10 @ Bottom of the Hill (San Fransisco, CA)
Thursday, April 12 @ Resident LA (Los Angeles, CA)
Friday, April 13 @ Soda Bar (San Diego, CA)
Saturday, April 14 @ Club Congress (Tucson, AZ)
Tuesday, April 17 @ Barleycorns (Wichita, KS)
Wednesday, April 18 @ Riot Room (Kansas City, MO)
Thursday, April 19 @ Empty Bottle (Chicago, IL)
Friday, April 20 @ Pioneer (Indianapolis, IN)
Friday, May 18 @ Biltmore Cabaret (Vancouver, BC)
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