We Are The City will release their sophomore album, Violent on June 4, 2013 on Hidden Pony Records. They will support the release with a Canadian tour starting on June 6 in Edmonton at Avenue Theatre and wrapping up with a resounding BC homecoming date on July 4 at The Vogue. The band will also play NXNE in Toronto at The Rivoli on June 14. All tour dates are noted below.

A Violent pre-order package is available today, exclusively at wearethecity.ca
It offers fans Violent on 180 gram, clear vinyl, a digital download, cassette, band demo’s, stems, unreleased videos and footage around the making of the record, 14 prints, b-sides and more! Full details, and a click to purchase via the link.

Violent will be streaming a week prior to release via, Exclaim.ca, CBC Music, ChartAttack and on MuchMusic.com.

Select new We Are The City album tracks are available as part of a NoiseTrade sampler, available here.

From the confines of a condemned house – the Magic House, where their new record took shape, to a U.S. tour this March where American outlet Striker Bill reviewed the album’s lead single, Baptism with the following: “…when the song explodes in a colorful wall of sound constructed from loud guitars, thunderous drumming, and glistening synthesizers after the second chorus, it reaches obsession status. It’s a cacophonous, bombastic, and entirely enthralling piece of music that subconsciously demands you to hit the repeat button.” Baptism is available for free download at: www.wearethecity.ca and an official video for the track will be available shortly. The band recently revealed the second trailer for Violent, an intense, axe wielding, piano inferno with album track Friends Hurt as the haunting soundtrack available here.

The album cover image of Violent provides a window to the band’s second epic release of the year. A glimpse to the companion film also called Violent, shot in Norway and scripted almost entirely in Norwegian. With a projected released date for the fall of 2013, the film is currently in post-production. The soundtrack is original music by We Are The City — no studio songs from the album, but melodies and themes from the album that band re-worked and re-recorded specifically to fit the film. Further trailers and film details will follow soon.

WE ARE THE CITY – UPCOMING TOUR DATES – JUNE & JULY 2013

June 6 - Edmonton, AB @ Avenue Theatre
June 7 - Saskatoon, SK @ Vangelis Tavern
June 8 – Winnipeg, MB @ Park Theatre
June 11 - Quebec, QC @ L’Agittee
June 12 - Ottawa @ Raw Sugar
June 13 - Montreal, QC @ Fringe Festival – Le Divan Orange
June 14 - Toronto, ON @ NXNE Festival – The Rivoli
June 19 - Regina, SK @ Artful Dodger
June 21 - Lethbridge, AB @ The Slice
June 22 - Calgary, AB @ Sled Island Festival – Golden Age Club
June 27 – Kelowna, BC @ Kelowna Community Theatre
July 4 - Vancouver, BC @ The Vogue Theatre

Produced by Tom Dobrzanski (The Zolas, We Are The City) and the band’s own Tyler Bancroft, I Love You brings the sundrenched, sing-along harmonies and the hooky pop/rock this JUNO-winning band is known for. The EP is rounded out by two additional tracks, Barbara-Ann and Mother both infectious, catchy gems, just in time for the summer.

Today Said The Whale, recently crowned as the Must Follow Artist Of The Year at the 2013 Sirius/XM Indie Awards, announce Canadian and American tour dates to coincide with the EP release – all dates are noted below. The band were nominated for Alternative Album Of The Year, and the artwork for 2012’s Little Mountain, was nominated for Recording Package Of The Year at the 2013 JUNO Awards. It was also recently announced that BC-based beer company Townsite Brewing (in partnership with CBC Music), has named a Belgian Pale Ale in honour of the band: Said The Ale.

Plans are to have a new Said The Whale record out, this fall. Stay tuned for further news and check in regularly at: saidthewhale.com

I LOVE YOU – TRACK LIST
1. I Love You
2. Barbara-Ann
3. Mother

SAID THE WHALE – SUMMER TOUR DATES – 2013
June 4  Portland, OR @ Doug Fir*
June 6  Eugene, OR @ Sam Bond’s Garage*
June 7  Davis, CA @ Sophia’s Thai*
June 8  Merced, CA @ The Partisan*
June 9  San Francisco, CA @ Brick and Mortar*
June 12  San Diego, CA @ Casbah*
June 13  Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Bar*
June 14  Las Vegas, NV @ Beauty Bar*
June 15  Phoenix, AZ @ Pub Rock Live*
June 20  Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern
June 22  Banff, AB @ Banff Cascades Of Time Gardens
July 12  Denver, CO @ Lost Lake Lounge
July 17  Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
July 18  Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Centre
July 20  Ness Creek, SK @ Ness Creek Festival
July 26  Guelph, ON @ Hillside Festival
Aug 9-10  Squamish, BC @ Squamish Valley Music Festival

* = with The Parson Red Heads and Desert Noises

Vancouver’s hotly tipped five-piece Said The Whale have been on a steady upward trajectory for the past six years, as relentless touring and a prolific string of releases have led to successes including a JUNO Award in 2011 for New Group of the Year and nationally charting singles. In 2013, the tireless five-piece -which includes dual songwriters Tyler Bancroft and Ben Worcester, drummer Spencer Schoening, keyboardist Jaycelyn Brown and bassist Nathan Shaw -will continue to break down doors by releasing its most adventurous and hook-filled batch of songs yet with the release of the ‘I Love You’ EP.

The ‘I Love You’ EP is set to drop June 18th 2013 (Hidden Pony/Caroline) and is co-produced by longtime studio collaborator Tom Dobrzanski (We Are The City, the Zolas) and Tyler Brancroft. The EP is an exciting collection of new material from one of Vancouver’s hottest bands.

Today, the title track “I Love You” premieres worldwide on Consequence of Sound, the infectiously catchy song is led by a surge of post-punk guitars and careens between spiky choruses and a sunny, sock hop-inspired bridge.  The lyric video for the song, which also premiers today, can be seen here.  An official video for the song will be coming around the release of the EP.

Check it out NOW

The ‘I Love You’ EP is just a taster of what Said The Whale have in store for their fourth full length album, which is due out this fall. Said The Whale are again nominees in this year’s JUNO Awards, they are up for Alternative Album Of The Year and Recording Package of The Year for 2012’s ‘Little Mountain’. The JUNO Awards will be held this Sunday April 21st in Regina, SK.

Said The Whale ‘I Love You’ EP out June 18th 2013 (Hidden Pony/Caroline)

OFFER NEW TRACK “EXPERIMENTAL FICTION”

THE DANKS are drifters with a purpose. Their debut album Are You Afraid Of The Danks rallied up the critical masses across North America, and saw the former PEI foursome score adds at US radio and twice charting in the CMJ Top 200. Exclaim called the record: “a power pop-laden effort immersed in reverberating, clunky guitars and dizzying keyboards, with raspy yet balmy vocals.”

On June 11, 2013 they will unleash their second album GANK (Hidden Pony Records). The songs that don’t get your head banging will make you want to rip off your unitard. Today they offer brand new album track Experimental Fiction, channeling some of the best fuzzed out, shoegazing indie rock with a detectable spirit of The Jesus and Mary Chain and the generational slackery of The Strokes at: thedanks.com

Recorded under threat of a global cooling in Toronto’s Kensington Market and recruiting Toronto’s Jeff McMurich (Fucked Up, Constantines, Owen Pallett) to man the mics and Ian McGettigan (Stars, Sloan) to fondle the faders, the anti-workaday quartet bashed out eleven no-nonsense pop blasts that barely clock in at thirty minutes. The Danks have been nominated for Rising Star and Best Alternative Album at the 2010 ECMA’s and Best Alternative Album MPEI 2010. They have toured alongside Ted Leo, Tokyo Police Club and Sprial Beach.

The Danks are playing a few warm-up gigs in early April, and May including Toronto shows at Parts and Labour and The Horseshoe Tavern. Look for a national tour and more release details to follow soon.

THE DANKS – GANK – TRACK LIST
1. Not News
2. Summer Luvin
3. Who Is You?
4. Experimental Fiction
5. Reality Grow
6. Sharpshooter
7. Octagonal
8. Genre Tourism
9. Sycamore
10. Big Picture
11. Dreads

UPCOMING SHOWS:
April 18 – Toronto, ON @ Parts and Labour
April 19 – London, ON @ The APK
April 23 – Hamilton, ON @ Casbah
May 14 – Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern

Those who saw Said The Whale rock out at SXSW to a packed house or open for Stars over the last month already got a sneak peak of I Love You, as it’s become a staple of their live set. The EP will be rounded out by three additional new tracks and will serve as a precursor to their eagerly anticipated new album, which is due this Fall. A full listing runs below. View the teaser video for “I Love You” at saidthewhale.com.

At the Sirius/XM Indie Awards during Canadian Music Week, Said The Whale were awarded the Must Follow Artist Of The Year (beating out deadmau5, Carly Rae Jepsen, City and Colour, and Metric). The band are nominated for Alternative Album Of The Year and the artwork for Little Mountain -a painstakingly beautiful dye-cut cover with interchangeable cover options, art directed by Andy Dixon is up for Recording Package Of The Year at the 2013 JUNO Awards being held in Regina, SK on April 21.

Final details continue to unfold for Said The Whale’s upcoming new full-length record, due out later this year. More details will follow soon.

I Love You EP Tracklisting:

1. I Love You
2. Narrows
3. Mother
4. Barbara-Ann

Check it out here.

WE ARE THE CITY ANNOUNCE SOPHOMORE ALBUM
“VIOLENT”
TO BE RELEASED ON JUNE 4, 2013

OFFER A DOCUMENTARY VIEW TO THE MAKING OF THEIR NEW ALBUM
&
TOUR ACROSS THE U.S. SUPPORTING HEY OCEAN! STARTING MARCH 22

We Are The City, the BC-based progressive rock trio, has weathered a few career twists and turns. On the heels of their debut album, In A Quiet World, they swiftly (and modestly) claimed first place in the inaugural Peak Performance Project landing the group $150,000 in funding in January of 2010. They went on to release the critically appreciated High School EP in 2011 – declared to be a “mini-masterwork.” The vacillations of We Are The City’s home base and core band members and the upheaval of any creative process has ultimately failed to derail the band’s musical momentum.

Today, We Are The City announce their sophomore album, Violent will be released this June 4, 2013 on Hidden Pony Records.
The reunited and reinvigorated group saw this new album take shape in the confines of a condemned house, dubbed the Magic House (which was ultimately demolished) and the entire process documented by the band in video webisodes. A trailer for Violent is available here.

Recorded by Tom Dobrzanski (Said The Whale, The Zolas, Hey Ocean!) at Monarch studios in Vancouver, We Are The City continues to prove it is unafraid to leave open space, employ a colliding drum fill, or experiment with unlikely sounds and arrangements – only serving to make the musical experience of Violent’s 10 tracks that much more exciting to listen to. From soaring highs and hushed comedowns, to dense syncopations going toe-to-toe with noise-soaked crescendos and delicate pop melodies. “King David” moves from aggressive distortion to gentle acoustic plucking to swirling ambience. “Bottom of the Lake” places marimba tinkles atop a gritty guitar backdrop, while the cerebral track “Baptism” rings with gorgeous harmony vocals and builds towards one of the album’s most thunderous ends. A visit to the band’s homepage yields a 20-minute documentary, a behind the scenes glimpse into the making of Violent, at wearethecity.ca

We Are The City will take Violent on a preview tour starting this month as they cross the U.S. with Vancouver’s Hey Ocean! for a run of 14 dates, starting March 22 in Florida. All shows are noted below. We Are The City will tour Canada extensively around the launch of Violent. Stay tuned for a full listing of dates and more album details will be revealed soon.

WE ARE THE CITY – VIOLENT – TRACK LIST

1. Bottom Of The Lake
2. Legs Give Out
3. King David
4. Passing Of The Peace
5. Friends Hurt
6. I Am, Are You?
7. 20 Ft. Up
8. Everything Changes
9. Baptism
10. Punch My Face

WE ARE THE CITY– UPCOMING TOUR DATES

March 22 – Phoenix Taproom – Jacksonville, FL
March 23 – Local 662 – St. Petersburg, FL
March 24 – Backbooth – Orlando, FL
March 26 – The Purgatory Room At The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
March 28 – 9th & Beats – Washington, DC
March 29 – Ortlieb’s Jazzhaus – Philadelphia, PA
March 30 – The Space – Hamden, CT
March 31 – The Middle East Upstairs – Cambridge, MA
April 1 – The Studio At Webster Hall – New York, NY
April 2 – The Rathskeller – Ewing, NJ
April 4 – Mac’s Bar – Lansing, MI
April 6 – Township – Chicago, IL
April 7 – First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN
April 9 – The Railyard – Billings, MT

All shows supporting Hey Ocean!

ANNOUNCE THE RELEASE OF SOPHOMORE ALBUM FALL OF ROMANCE ON MAY 28, 2013
TOUR THE U.S. & CANADA FOR SELECT DATES IN MARCH
&
CHASING THE SUNSET NEW TRACK PREMIERE AVAILABLE TODAY VIA CONSEQUENCE OF SOUND

Imaginary Cities, the Winnipeg-born music project formed by Marti Sarbit and Rusty Matyas, announce the release of their second studio album, Fall Of Romance due out on May 28, 2013 via Hidden Pony Records/Votiv Music. The 2011 Polaris Music Prize long list nominees saw their internationally celebrated debut album, Temporary Resident lauded by Daytrotter, Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, The National Post and Filter Magazine. They won a WCMA Award for “Best Pop Album” and saw endless adoring reviews from around the world for both the record and live show.

Today Consequence of Sound premiere’s new album track, “Chasing The Sunset” – listen to it here.

The gorgeous orchestral anchored track returns listeners to the clever, hooky songwriting this young band has earned a reputation for and features Marti’s beautiful vocals front and center.

Fall Of Romance was recorded at Private Ear Studio in Winnipeg and Menagerie Studio in Vancouver, as well as in Imaginary Cities’ rehearsal space – lovingly referred to as “the shit hole”. The 12 new tracks also feature some creative international recording locales, such as their friend Anna’s apartment in Cologne Germany and the Rushing River Campground in Ontario, Canada.

Fall of Romance was co-produced by Matyas and acclaimed producer Howard Redekopp (Tegan and Sara, Said The Whale, The New Pornographers). Of the new record Matyas notes, “This was definitely the most fun I’ve ever personally had recording an album. We’d spend all day experimenting with sounds and instruments of all kinds. No limits, no rules, just fun.”

Imaginary Cities will play select North American dates in March, including gigs at SXSW and CMW. A full list of dates follow below. Further album details and teaser tracks and videos will be revealed soon.

www.imaginarycities.ca

“Fall Of Romance” TRACK LIST

1. Lilt (The Intro Song)
2. All The Time
3. Bells of Cologne
4. Chasing The Sunset
5. Silver Lining
6. Sooner or later
7. Fall of Romance
8. 9 and 10
9. A Way With Your Words
10. Who’s Watching You
11. Water Under the Bridge
12. Still Waiting So Cold

IMAGINARY CITIES – UPCOMING TOUR DATES – MARCH 2013

March 14 Austin, TX Paste Party*
March 14 Austin, TX Manitoba Music Party*
March 14 Austin, TX BreakOut West Showcase*
March 15 Austin, TX Sonicbird/Planetary Group Showcase*
March 16 Austin, TX Best Lil’Big Fest in Texas*
March 18 Nashville, TN 12 & Porter
March 19 St. Louis, MO Fubar
March 20 Chicago, IL Beat Kitchen
March 21 Windsor, ON Phog Lounge
March 22 Toronto, ON Lee’s Palace (CMW w/ Besnard Lakes)
March 23 Hamilton, ON Casbah
* - performance at SXSW

Watch it here