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Jan 15, 2019 By Christopher Roberts Photography by Nicholas Moore The Drums

The Drums (aka Jonny Pierce) has announced a new album, Brutalism, and shared its first single, “Body Chemistry.” Brutalism is due out April 5 via ANTI-. Listen to “Body Chemistry” below, followed by the album’s tracklist and cover art, as well as The Drums’ upcoming tour dates.

The album is the follow-up to 2017’s “Abysmal Thoughts” (the quote marks are part of the title), which was the first Drums album that was essentially a Pierce solo project.

Pierce had this to say about ” Body Chemistry” in a press release: “For the year prior to writing this song, I had been dealing with an increased feeling of depression. To counter that, I was doing all I could do to try and make myself feel good: implementing all sorts of self-care, going to therapy, eating well, exercising at the gym, taking a step back from partying, and focusing on positive relationships while weeding out the not-so-good ones. I still found myself weighed down with anxiety and depression. This song asks the question: Is this dull, sad feeling in my DNA? Is it part of my gene pool? Can it ever be corrected? I had been confronting some of my most stubborn demons, and I came to realize that confronting doesn’t always mean conquering.”

Brutalism was written and recorded between Upstate New York and a studio in Stinson Beach, just north of San Francisco. A press release states: “Following a painful divorce and an incredibly difficult stint living solely in Los Angeles, Pierce decided it was time to face his demons, and the making of this record is a part of that process.”

Pierce further explains: “I was exhausted, depleted and sabotaging myself, partying so much but in reality running away from pain. It was a downward spiral.”

And so Pierce went to therapy. “It was do or die,” he says.

The press release says that Pierce is now “working towards a better, healthier headspace.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever really find myself,” he says. “I don’t think people do. I don’t think there’s a day that you wake up and you go, ‘Now I know who I am.’ The best way for me to be an artist is by taking a goddamn minute, being still, and listening to what it is that I want and need.”

Read our 2017 Protest interview with The Drums’ Jonny Pierce.

Brutalism Tracklist:

1. Pretty Cloud
2. Body Chemistry
3. 626 Bedford Avenue
4. Brutalism
5. Loner
6. I Wanna Go Back
7. Kiss It Away
8. My Jasp
9. Blip of Joy

The Drums Tour Dates:

4/24/19 - Tustin, CA @ Marty’s On Newport
4/26/19 - El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow Palace
4/27/19 - San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger
4/29/19 - Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
4/30/19 - St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
5/01/19 - Chicago, IL @ Metro
5/02/19 - Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theater
5/04/19 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
5/07/19 - New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
5/08/19 - Asbury Park, NJ @ Asbury Lanes
5/09/19 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry at The Fillmore
5/10/19 - Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
5/11/19 - Washington, D.C. @ The Black Cat
5/13/19 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
5/14/19 - Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
5/15/19 - Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
5/16/19 - Orlando, FL @ The Beacham Theater
5/17/19 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution Live
5/18/19 - Tampa Bay, FL @ The Orpheum
5/20/19 - Pensacola, FL @ Vinyl Music Hall
5/21/19 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall (Downstairs)
5/22/19 - Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
5/23/19 - Austin, TX @ Emo’s

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