Alt-rock icons The Afghan Whigs have announced a new full-length album called In Spades. Due out May 5th via Sub Pop, the 12-track LP follows the band’s 2014 comeback effort, Do to the Beast, which was their first since 1998.
Bandleader Greg Dulli wrote and produced In Spades himself, and inoperable cancer be damned, guitarist Dave Rosser is also a featured contributor. Recording sessions took place in New Orleans, Los Angeles, Memphis, and Joshua Tree. In a press release, Dulli called the material “spooky.” “I like that it’s veiled,” he went on. “It’s not a concept album per se, but as I began to assemble it, I saw an arc and followed it. To me it’s about memory – in particular, how quickly life and memory can blur together.”
As a first listen, the band has shared the album’s lead single, “Demon in Profile”. The song creeps along foreboding piano and bass until horns punch through the eeriness. In the Phil Harder-directed video for the track, Har Mar Superstar appears to be getting ready for a show. However, the makeup and prep is interspliced with images of a goat-headed creature, a roller-skater on fire, and other off-putting images, giving the impression that this Superstar made an unsavory deal to gain his screaming fans. Check it out below.
Pre-orders for In Spades are going on here, with those who purchase the LP version receiving the “Loser Edition” on 180-gram, white-chocolate vinyl.
In Spades Album Artwork:
In Spades Tracklist:
01. Birdland
02. Arabian Heights
03. Demon in Profile
04. Toy Automatic
05. Oriole
06. Copernicus
07. The Spell
08. Light as a Feather
09. I Got Lost
10. Into the Floor
The Afghan Whigs have also announced a European tour in support of the new album. Find the itinerary below.
The Afghan Whigs 2017 Tour Dates:
05/26 – Manchester, UK @ Cathedral
05/27 – Glasgow, UK @ ABC
05/28 – Dublin, IE @ Academy
05/30 – London, UK @ Koko
06/01 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound Festival
06/03 – Bologna, IT @ Zona Roveri
06/04 – Zagreb, HR @ Tvornica Kulture
06/06 – Warsaw, PL @ Palladium
06/07 – Berlin, DE @ Kesselhaus
06/09 – Aarhus, DK @ Northside Festival
06/10 – Oslo, NO @ Vulkan
06/12 – Hamburg, DE @ Gruenspan
06/13 – Frankfurt, DE @ Batschkapp
06/14 – Antwerp, BE @ Trix
06/15 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique
08/04 – Vienna, AT @ WUK
08/05 – Prague, CZ @ Lucerna Music Bar
08/06 – Zurich, CH @ Mascotte
08/08 – Munich, DE @ Backstage Halle
08/09 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
