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Jun 13, 2017 By Christopher Roberts Hoops

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The Drums are releasing a new album, “Abysmal Thoughts” (the quote marks are part of the title), this Friday (June 16) via ANTI-. Previously they shared its first single, “Blood Under My Belt,” as well as a video for the song, and the tracks “Heart Basel” and “Head of the Horse.” Now they have shared another song from it, “Mirror.” It features guest vocals from Ioanna Gika of Los Angeles electronic rockers IO Echo. The band has also announced some new November and December North American tour dates that include support from Methyl Ethel and Hoops. Listen to the song and check out the dates below.

Frontman/main creative force Jonny Pierce had this to say about the song in a statement: ““Abysmal Thoughts” is the first album where I am taking responsibility for myself. It’s the first album where I look more inward and less outward. It is an album of self exploration. Maybe the problems in my adult life come from a broken place inside of me. Maybe I can’t properly love because I don’t really know who I am. Maybe people leave me because they have no other choice. This entire album felt like intense therapy and “Mirror” was the first session. My steady anchor through the entire recording process was my dearest friend, Ioanna Gika - she held my hand through all of it and so I thought it fitting to ask her to sing with me on this song.”

“Abysmal Thoughts” is the follow-up to 2014’s Encyclopedia. Since that album guitarist Jacob Graham has left the band, leaving only frontman Jonny Pierce. Pierce home-recorded the album for a year and three months in Los Angeles and at his cabin in upstate New York, with assistance from engineer Jonathan Schenke (Parquet Courts, Mannequin Pussy). Pierce wrote all the songs and played every instrument on the album. A previous press release describes the album as such: “It is a vivid self-portrait, alive with the hyperdramatic emotional potency of The Smiths, the arch literary pop moves of New Zealanders like The Verlaines and The Clean, and the riotous clatter-punk power of the U.K. DIY bands of 1979.”

The album is borne out of heartbreak, as Pierce explained in the press release: “I said I wanted to let life happen? Well, the universe listened and life began to fuck me real good! But honestly, I make the worst art when I’m comfortable. The stuff that resonates with me the longest - and that resonates with others - is always the stuff that comes out of my misery…. Happiness can be confusing to me. It shows up out of nowhere, and before you can even get used to it, it’s vanished. But “Abysmal Thoughts”? I can rely on them - and with the political chaos that is raining down, who knows when these dark feelings will subside?”

Pick up or download Under the Radar‘s current print issue, the Spring 2017 Issue, to read our new interview with The Drums’ Jonny Pierce.

The Drums Tour Dates:

June 7th: House of Vans - Brooklyn, NY
July 17th: Neumos - Seattle, WA
July 18th: Venue - Vancouver, BC
July 19th: Wonder Ballroom - Portland, OR
July 21st: The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA
July 22nd: FYF Festival - Los Angeles, CA
July 30th: Wayhome Music and Arts Festival - Oro-Medonte, ON
July 31st: El Club - Detroit, MI
August 1st: Bell’s - Kalamazoo, MI
August 3rd: Lollapalooza - Chicago, IL
August 4th: The Grog Shop - Cleveland, OH
August 5th: Hifi - Indianapolis, IN
September 10th: Lucerna Music Bar - Prague, Czech Republic
September 12th: YotaSpace - Moscow, Russia
September 14th: Teatro Barcelo - Madrid, Spain
September 15th: Razmatazz - Barcelona, Spain
September 16th: Donostia Kutxa Kultur Festibala - San Sebastian, Spain
September 18th: Latteria Molloy - Brescia, Italy
September 19th: Les Docks - Lausanne, Switzerland
September 20th: La Gaite Lyrique - Paris, France
September 21st-23rd: Reeperbahn Festival - Hamburg, Germany
September 24th: Pumperhuset - Copenhagen, Denmark
September 25th: Parkteateret - Oslo, Norway
September 26th: Kraken - Stockholm, Sweden
September 28th: Lido - Berlin, Germany
September 29th: Orangerie - Brussels, Belgium
September 30th: Paradiso Noord - Amsterdam, Holland
October 2nd: Thekla - Bristol, UK
October 3rd: Whelans - Dublin, Ireland
October 4th: Gorilla - Manchester, UK
October 5th: Art School - Glasgow, UK
October 7th: o2 Shepherds Bush Empire - London, UK
November 6th: Bluebird Theater - Denver, CO &
November 7th: The Waiting Room - Omaha, NE &
November 8th: The Ready Room - St. Louis, MO &
November 10th: Skully’s - Columbus, OH &
November 11th: The Mod Club -Toronto, CAN &
November 13th: Theatre Fairmount - Montreal, CAN &
November 14th: The Sinclair - Cambridge, MA &
November 15th: Brooklyn Steel - Brooklyn, NY &
November 16th: Black Cat - Washington, DC &
November 19th: Corona Capital - Mexico City, Mexico
November 28th: Exit/In - Nashville, TN %
November 29th: Terminal West - Atlanta, GA
November 30th: The Social - Orlando, FL %
December 1st: Gramps - Miami, FL %
December 2nd: Crowbar - Tampa, FL %
December 4th: Club Downunder - Tallahassee, FL %
December 5th: One Eyed Jacks - New Orleans, LA %
December 6th: White Oak Music Hall (Dwn Strs) - Houston, TX%
December 8th: Trees - Dallas, TX %
December 9th: Emo’s - Austin, TX %
December 10th: Tricky Falls - El Paso, TX %
December 11th: Meow Wolf - Santa Fe, NM %
December 13th: The Van Buren - Phoenix, AZ %
December 14th: Brooklyn Bowl - Las Vegas, NV %

& with Methyl Ethel
% with Hoops

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