Look busy — err, occupied: Preoccupations are revving up for a new album and tour this year, and they’re kicking it off with new tune “Espionage,” the first taste of their forthcoming third album New Material, out March 23. And based on what we’ve been told, it sounds pretty heavy.
“It’s an ode to depression,” vocalist, songwriter, and bassist Matt Flegel says in the presser. “To depression and self-sabotage, and looking inward at yourself with extreme hatred.”
“Espionage,” however, remains sufficiently rooted in their post-punk tendencies with some more upbeat retro synthwave tucked in — a more pleasant cliffhanger before the full record drops, if you will.
The Canadian band, formerly known as Viet Cong, has also announced the dates of their 2018 North American tour, which starts on April 14 in Toronto and wraps up in late May in St. Louis.
The band pulls into Boston on April 18 to perform at Brighton Music Hall with Freak Heat Waves as the second show of the tour.
Needless to say, one month in to 2018, and the group has already given us a handful of ways to keep our minds ~occupied~. Peep the full list of tour dates below.
Featured photo by Ben Stas for Vanyaland, from Preoccupations’ 2016 show at The Sinclair in Cambridge.
2018 Preoccupations North American Tour Dates
April 14: Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
April 18: Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall *
April 19: Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade *
April 20: Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere (Zone One) ^
April 23: Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts *
April 24: Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel *
April 26: Columbus, OH @ The A&R Music Bar *
April 27: Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle *
April 29: Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry *
May 1: Winnipeg, MB @ Pyramid Cabaret *
May 3: Edmonton, AB @ Starlite *
May 4: Calgary, AB @ Palomino *
May 5: Calgary, AB @ Palomino
May 9: Vancouver, BC @ The Cobalt
May 11: Seattle, WA @ Barboza #
May 12: Portland, OR @ Star Theater #
May 14: San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop #
May 18: Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo #
May 19: Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar #
May 22: Austin, TX @ Barracuda
May 23: Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
May 24: St. Louis, MO @ Firebird
^ w/ Odonis Odonis
* w/ Freak Heat Waves
# w/ Moaning