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Mar 01, 2017 By Christopher Roberts Photography by Moni Haworth The Drums

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The Drums have announced a new album and shared its first single, “Blood Under My Belt.” The album is entitled “Abysmal Thoughts” (the quote marks are part of the title) and is due out June 16 via ANTI-, the band’s first for the label. Listen to “Blood Under My Belt,” followed by the album’s tracklist and cover art and the band’s upcoming tour dates.

“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 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 explains 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.”

Pierce later adds: “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?”

“Abysmal Thoughts” Tracklist:

1. Mirror
2. I’ll Fight For Your Life
3. Blood Under My Belt
4. Heart Basel
5. Shoot The Sun Down
6. Head Of The Horse
7. Under The Ice
8. Are U Fucked
9. Your Tenderness
10. Rich Kids
11. If All We Share (Means Nothing)
12. Abysmal Thoughts

The Drums Tour Dates:

March 8th: The Glass House - Pomona, CA
March 9th: Neon Reverb Festival - Las Vegas, NV
March 10th: 191 Toole - Tucson, AZ
March 11th: Viva PHX - Phoenix, AZ
March 12th: Lowbrow Palace - El Paso, CA
March 14th: SXSW - Austin, TX
March 15th: SXSW - Austin, TX
March 16th: Anti- Showcase @ SXSW - Austin, TX
March 17th: Culture Collide/Anti- Day Party @ SXSW - Austin, TX
March 18th: Trees - Dallas, TX
July 17th: Neumos - Seattle, WA
July 18th: Venue - Vancouver, BC
July 19th: Wonder Ballroom - Portland, OR
July 21st: The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA
July 30th: Wayhome Music and Arts Festival - Oro-Medonte, ON

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