Califone Releases 'Villagers' Single and Announces Tour Dates

04-04-2023

Single art

(Biz 3) Califone, the long-running project of Tim Rutili, has just shared the title track of their forthcoming new album villagers (slated for a May 19 release via Jealous Butcher Records).

The new song offers a markedly different perspective on the new material than previous single "the hapsburg jaw," trading that song's' komische-rhythm and whimsical electronics for austere beauty and intimately strummed acoustic guitar that slowly smears into lush ambience; the effect of which is akin to sitting on a porch swing looking out at a sunset that radiates a slow, mystic entropy fraying everything at the edges.

The group has marked the release of the new single by announcing their first tour dates in support of the album, a run of six shows on the east coast this June that includes stops in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Durham, and Kingston, NY - full dates below and tickets here.

villagers' songs are full of people coming to terms with the gaps between perception and reality, with the very concept of reality, with time slinking constantly towards an unseen cliff-an album where even songs of devotion focus on loving the other's imperfections and broken hearts. Recorded in four cities and bolstered by a pool of collaborators that includes longtime cohorts Brian Deck, Michael Krassner, Rachel Blumberg, and Ben Massarella, the record's nine compositions smoothly bounce between taut grooves and rough-sketched studio exploration, seamlessly blending elements of classic AM gold, electronic experimentation, Laurel Canyon harmonies, and musique concrete into a horizonless sonic geography. Even as the world stretches into stranger and stranger shapes, Califone continues to reach newfound heights of harmony and unity beyond their already mythic chemistry.

CALIFONE TOUR DATES
(all dates with Max Knouse)

June 16 - Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool
June 17 - Kingston, NY @ Tubby's
June 18 - Allston, MA @ The Cantab Lounge
June 19 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's
June 20 - Washington, DC @ Quarry House
June 21 - Durham, NC @ The Pinhook