NEWS: Yukon Blonde Announce The Release Of "Tiger Talk"
Yukon Blonde Announce The March 20 Release Of Tiger Talk
Vancouver four piece to release highly anticipated sophomore LP on Dine Alone Records, offer up first single Stairway for download, and prepare for worldwide tour dates by playing an intimate and very special show during CBC Vancouver’s Toque Sessions on February 3rd at 5:30 PM.
Over the past two years, Yukon Blonde has earned no shortage of acclaim for its hook-heavy brand of pop rock. From having their debut album Polaris Music Prize listed to being talked about on the major US Network television show How I Met Your Mother, Yukon Blonde has been turning heads everywhere they go. But despite their love of vintage rock 'n' roll, the members aren't the kind of guys who cling to the past.
Tiger Talk represents the next adventurous step in Yukon Blonde's career. Its ten tracks are short and punchy, as the band trimmed the fat and packed hooks and brisk tempos into streamlined arrangements. "Radio" assaults the speakers with a brash stomp worthy of early Elvis Costello, while "Oregon Shores" blends its bouncy rhythm and sunny vocal harmonies with an epic, face-melting guitar solo. Elsewhere, a robotic drum pattern anchors "Breathing Tigers," and "My Girl" taps into powerpop greatness with its "whoa-oh" refrain
Despite the success of the group's previous material, the musicians were initially uninspired when they set about writing like-minded new songs. Instead, the members were drawn to the fast, punk-tinged tracks that Innes has been penning in his spare time. Danceable and unrepentantly poppy, these new tracks evoked late-'70s/early-'80s post-punk and drew inspiration from artists like the Buzzcocks, Ramones and Talking Heads.
After an intensive three-week writing retreat to a cottage in BC's Comox Valley that saw the band pulling twelve-hour days, the band hunkered down at Burnaby, BC's Hive Creative Labs studio with Colin Stewart (Black Mountain, Ladyhawk). Eschewing the analog tape of their past work in favour of a crisp digital approach with synthesizer flourishes, the band agonized over tones and meticulously crafted 15 new songs.
Four of these tunes sounded out of place, and bore a distinct similarity to the debut. Yukon Blonde opted to release these four cuts separately as the 2011 EP Fire//Water. With the fan base's appetite sufficiently whetted, the group held back the remaining tracks for the full-length.
The album still bears some of the hallmarks of what made Yukon Blonde so beloved to begin with: the jangling riffs, the warm harmonies, and Innes' inquisitive lyrical questioning of the world around him. This time, however, the songs are jacked up on sugar-spiked pop and coursing with adrenaline. When Tiger Talk arrives in March on Dine Alone Records, expect these tunes to become your anthems of spring/summer 2012.
Artistically uncompromising as ever, Yukon Blonde have already proved that they are willing to go wherever their restless artistic muse takes them. Along with a 62 show North American tour behind their Fire//Water EP the band also played such as Ottawa Blues Fest, Mariposa Folk Festival, and Milwaukee Summerfest. They toured with Plants & Animals and The Fling, and shared the stage with the likes of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes, Dawes, Josh Ritter, Elliott Brood and more. It will come as no surprise to find out that the band will be touring around the world in 2012, so expect to see them in a venue near you.
Yukon Blonde Tour Dates
February 03 – Vancouver, BC @ CBC Vancouver – 5:30 PM ***February 15 - London, England @ Brixton Windmill
February 16 - London, England @ Old Queen's Head
February 17 - Paris, France @ Fleche D'or
February 18 - Utrect, Netherlands @ Ekko
February 19 - Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso (upstairs)
February 20 - Hamburg, Germany @ Kulturhaus III&70
February 22 - Stockholm, Sweden @ Debaser
February 23 - Copenhagen, Denmark @ Stengad
February 24 - Berlin, Germany @ Privat Club
March 13 – 18 - Austin, TX @ SXSW
March 22 - Edmonton, AB @ Pawn Shop
March 23 - Saskatoon, SK @ Amigos
March 24 - Winnipeg, MB @ WECC
March 26 - Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock
March 27 - Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen
March 28 - London, ON @ Call the Office
March 29 - Guelph, ON @ The Vinyl
March 30 - Montreal, QC @ Casa Del Popolo
March 31 - Kingston, ON @ Grad Club
April 02 - Quebec City, QC @ Le Cercle
April 04 - Charlottetown, PEI @ Hunters Ale House
April 05 - Fredericton, NB @ The Capitol
April 06 - St. John's, NL @The Rock House
April 07 - Halifax, N.S. @ Reflections Cabaret
April 10 - New York, NY @ Pianos
April 11 - Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
April 12/13 - Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace
April 14 - Ottawa, ON @ Ritual
April 16 - Sudbury, ON @ The Townehouse
April 18 – Thunder Bay, ON @ Crocks
April 20 - Regina, SK @ University of Regina Multipurpose Room
April 21 - Calgary, AB @ Palomino
April 26 - Victoria, B.C. @ 9ONE9
April 27 - Vancouver, B.C. @ Commodore
*** Reserve your seat to Feb 03 show at rsvp.radio@cbc.ca with “Yukon Blonde” in the subject line.
http://yukonblonde.com/
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