LOS ANGELES (Top40 Charts/ Late Of The Pier Official Website) - Eclectic modern-rock Nottingham, England quartet Late of the Pier is preparing a month of U.S. tour dates that will span such major springtime festival events as Austin, TX's South By Southwest and south Florida's Winter
Music Conference, and will also include a series of headline gigs and an appearance on the closing day of Indio, CA's Coachella Festival.
Praised at its U.K. release last year for its 'spirit of invention, its surfeit of ideas and its ear for a good tune' (The Guardian), Late of the Pier's ambitious and genre-confounding album 'Fantasy Black Channel' was released January 13th 2009 on Astralwerks in a special U.S. edition with two U.S.-only bonus tracks.
The American response was instant, and unanimous: 'The quartet's fervent debut, produced by DJ Erol Alkan, offers a fabulous simulation of 80's new wave, with burping, sputtering synths and sleazy, Bowie-inspired crooning from frontman Sam Eastgate,' said Spin.
Blender was no less of a convert, saying: '(Late of the Pier) have made one of the most vital EPs of the year.' Teen Vogue, Billboard, and a host of local papers agreed, praising the band's 'loud, feverish thrills' (Marie Claire) and 'the most genius, gonzo anthems you'll have heard come the New Year' (Filter).
Now, anticipation of the band's arrival in America is building fast, with Late of the Pier's MySpace.com webpage nearing a total of 4 million audio streams, with individual album tracks well in the mid-six-figure range. 'Late of the Pier...can create arena-electro as good as the 80's antecedents that came before them,' raved Alternative Press.
'They reference prog, heavy metal, Roxy Music, Blur, Aphex Twin and Gary Numan - often all in the same song,' The Guardian continued. 'Every time you play this album, you'll find a new favourite song, riff or wayward moment.'
The Observer called the album a 'tour de force comprising glam techno and rave...It's hard to see how (Alkan) or (the group) could spin a more definitive statement.'
Late of the Pier is comprised of Sam Eastgate (vocals/guitar), Sam Potter (synths/samplers), Ross Dawson (drums/percussion) and Andrew Faley (bass).
Late of the Pier Spring 2009 US tour dates:
(Dates and information subject to change.)
March 18-21 Austin, TX South by Southwest
March 24 Jacksonville, FL Jack Rabbits
March 26 Miami, FL Gansevoort Hotel (DJ set)
March 27 Miami, FL Vagabond Hotel (DJ set)
March 28 Miami, FL Bicentennial Park
March 30 Atlanta, GA The Earl
April 01 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
April 02 New Haven, CT Yale
April 03 Brooklyn, NY Studio B
April 04 Philadelphia, PA TLA
April 07 Washington DC 930 Club
April 08 Boston, MA Paradise
April 09 Montreal, QC Les Saintes
April 10 Toronto, ON Kool Haus
April 11 Chicago, IL Congress
April 14 Seattle, WA Chop Suey
April 15 Portland, OR Holocene
April 16 San Francisco, CA Popscene
April 19 Indio, CA Empire Polo Grounds
