FIRST ALBUM IN FIVE YEARS FEATURES MARGO PRICE & TWAIN
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cazQn8g2U4Y
“Stop what you’re doing! The Deslondes are back!” – Holler
The Deslondes are set to return with Ways & Means July 8th, 2022 via New West Records. The 14-song set is their first album in five years and follows 2017’s critically acclaimed Hurry Home. Ways & Meanswas produced by The Deslondes & their long-time collaborator Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes) and was recorded at The Bombshelter in Nashville, TN. The album features Margo Price on the title track, as well as Twain and the multi-instrumentalist Billy Contreras on multiple songs. Long combining elements of early Stax, Sun, and Atlantic Records with the influence of a more raw, stripped-down sound gleaned off field recordings from Alan Lomax and the Mississippi Records catalogue, the band also incorporate psychedelic flourishes that bring to mind the sonic experimentation of Joe Meek, Lee Hazlewood and the Velvet Underground. Infusing everything from saxophone, flute, and synth to string arrangements and a full drum kit for the first time, the group naturally progresses and evolves in real-time on their third full-length offering.
Lauded as “burgeoning stars” by The New York Times, The Deslondes’ 2014 self-titled debut was a breakout hit praised by NPR as “energized, elegant, and new,” and their follow-up, Hurry Home, earned similar acclaim with Rolling Stone calling it “a gritty, grimy mix of early rock ‘n’ roll and lo-fi R&B.” Following the band’s hiatus in late 2018, members Sam Doores and Riley Downing each released debut solo albums to critical acclaim. PopMatters called Doore’s eponymous debut “…a deeply poetic and haunting collection that draws upon the musicians’ disparate influences” and “Perhaps not since Los Lobos’ Kiko has an artist so effortlessly married avant-garde and everyman sensibilities, arriving at a place where childlike curiosity meets the fruits of patient practice and ambition. Deep knowledge and unbound imagination coexist peacefully, happily, throughout.” Of Downing’s Start It Over (2021), Uncut Magazinecalled it a “dusty triumph” and described his voice “…like Johnny Cash with a hangover,” exclaiming “His brain…is abuzz with sounds and ideas, which makes his solo debut a thrill.”
Today, Magnet Magazine shared the first video from Ways & Means with the album highlight “Dunes.” The video was filmed in one continuous shot and directed by Joshua Shoemaker. It is the first of three that will be paired together, with Shoemaker telling Magnet, “One of my favourite things to do is pull off an elaborate one-shot with an artist or band. I’ve worked with The Deslondes for years and know them very deeply, so we decided to up the bar and go for three one-shots back-to-back so we could tell a larger story. ‘Dunes’ is the first act and a really fun piece that involves a lot of patient people in the Bywater of New Orleans.”
Holler previously shared the first sampling of Ways & Means with the album highlight “South Dakota Wild One,” exclaiming, “Stop what you’re doing! The Deslondes are back!” and saying “‘South Dakota Wild One’ is nothing short of magnificent.”
The Deslondes have also announced their initial U.S tour dates in support of Ways & Means. Launching July 13th in Athens, GA, the tour also includes an appearance at this year’s Americanafest in Nashville, TN. Please see tour dates, with more to be added soon, below.
“The album title reminds me of being young, getting into the music business, going through everything and coming out of it,” Downing observes. “We’re taking a look right, left, and back at ourselves.” The Deslondes’ John James Tourville adds, “We were letting go of a bunch of old dynamics that left us burnt out. We’re focused on being productive and on the other side.”
The “other side” might just be their brightest yet.
The Deslondes remain Dan Cutler, Sam Doores, Riley Downing, Cameron Snyder, and John James Tourville.
The Deslondes’ Ways & Means will be available across digital platforms, on compact disc, and standard black vinyl. A limited to 300 “Flambeaux” colour vinyl edition will be available via Vinyl Me, Please. A limited to 1,500 “Sun King” colour vinyl edition will be available at Independent Retailers and can be pre-ordered NOW via NEW WEST RECORDS.
The Deslondes Photo by Bobbi Wernig
The Deslondes Ways & Means Track Listing:
Good to Go
Five Year Plan
Ways & Means
South Dakota Wild One
Consider Me
Howl at the Moon
Home Again
Wild Eden
Standing Still
Dunes
Tomorrow Morning
Bound by Love
Sweet Release
Hero