{"id":23395,"date":"2016-09-15T18:15:07","date_gmt":"2016-09-15T22:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=23395"},"modified":"2016-09-13T20:33:57","modified_gmt":"2016-09-14T00:33:57","slug":"preoccupations-release-11-minute-track-memory-featuring-wolf-parades-dan-boeckner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=23395","title":{"rendered":"Preoccupations release 11-minute track ‘Memory’ featuring Wolf Parade’s Dan Boeckner"},"content":{"rendered":"

Memory<\/em>\u00a0is perhaps the most important moment on the new self-titled\u00a0Preoccupations album. At just over\u00a011 minutes long, it’s been described as\u00a0the album’s keystone, with\u00a0an intimate narrative and a truly timeless post-punk centre. Like many classic songs in history, Memory<\/em> is carved into\u00a0distinct sections \u2014 both\u00a0emotional and\u00a0transcendent.<\/p>\n

Speaking of the track, Monty of Preoccupations notes the song “was the second one that we started working on for ‘Preoccupations’\u00a0after\u00a0Anxiety. It was unique to the sessions of the record in that we worked on it in every studio that we were in. The idea we had for its arc made it necessary to put more work into it than any of the other tracks. The finished result was worked on in six\u00a0different studios over almost two years. Getting Dan in to record the vocals was the final piece of the puzzle and was Matt’s idea. We were tracking in Montreal and cold-called him to see if he wanted to sing a duet of sorts, but his vocal was so perfect for it that we didn’t use Matt’s for most of it.”<\/em><\/p>\n

‘Preoccupations’\u00a0is set for release September 16th via\u00a0Flemish Eye\u00a0in Canada and\u00a0Jagjaguwar\u00a0<\/strong>everywhere else.\u00a0Earlier this summer the band released videos for Anxiety<\/em> (watch\u00a0here<\/a>) and Degraded<\/em> (watch\u00a0here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

‘Preoccupations’ track listing<\/h5>\n

\"\"
\nSeptember 16th, \u00a02016 (LP\/CD\/Cassette\/Digital)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Anxiety
\n2\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Monotony
\n3\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Zodiac
\n4\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Memory
\n5\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Degraded
\n6\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Sense
\n7\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Forbidden
\n8\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Stimulation
\n9\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Fever<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pre-order ‘Preoccupations’ via\u00a0Flemish Eye here.<\/a><\/p>\n

When the four members of Preoccupations wrote and recorded their new record, they were in a state of near total instability. Years-long relationships ended; they left homes behind. Frontman Matt Flegel, guitarist Danny Christiansen, multi-instrumentalist Scott Munro and drummer Mike Wallace all moved to different cities. They had resolved to change their band name, but hadn’t\u00a0settled on a new one. And their road-tested, honed approach to songwriting was basically thrown out the window.\u00a0This time they walked into producer’s Graham Walsh’s studio with the gas gauge near empty, buoyed by one\u00a0another while the rest of their lives were virtually unrecognizable and rootless.\u00a0There was no central theme or idea to guide the band’s collective cliff jump. As a result,\u00a0Preoccupations<\/em>\u00a0bears\u00a0the visceral, personal sound of holding onto some steadiness in the midst of changing everything.<\/p>\n

Flegel is quick to point out how little mystery is in the titles of these songs: Anxiety, Monotony, Degraded, Stimulation, Fever. \u00a0“Monotony is a dead end job; Anxiety is changing as a band,”<\/em> he says. \u00a0“Memory is watching someone lose their mind; Fever is comforting someone. It’s all drawing\u00a0from very specific things.”<\/em>\u00a0These things \u2014 bigger ones like breakups, smaller ones like simply trying to calm someone down \u2014 \u00a0are ultimately the things that explode our brains, that keep us up at night. And\u00a0so where their previous album\u00a0was built in some ways on the abstract cycles of creation and destruction, ‘Preoccupations’\u00a0explores how that sometimes-suffocating, sometimes-revelatory trap affects our lives. “We discarded a lot, reworking songs pretty ruthlessly,”<\/em> Munro explains. “We ripped songs down to the studs, taking one piece we liked and building something new around it. It was\u00a0pretty cannibalistic, I guess. Existing songs were killed and used to make new ones.”<\/em>\u00a0 Sonically, it’s still blistering. \u00a0But it’s a different kind of blister, less the the scorched earth of the band’s previous LP, more like a blood blister\u00a0on a fingertip: something immediate and physical that you push and stare at. It’s yours.<\/p>\n

Opener Anxiety<\/em> articulates that tension: clattering sounds drift into focus, bouncing and echoing off one another until one bone-shattering moment when the full band strikes at once,\u00a0moving from something\u00a0untouchable to get to something deeply felt. Monotony<\/em> moves at a narcoleptic pace by Preoccupations’ standards, but snaps to attention to make its point,\u00a0that “this repetition’s killing you \/\/ it’s killing everyone.” \u00a0Stimulation<\/em> opens with a snarl and hurls itself forward at what feels like a million bpm, pausing for one mortal moment of relief\u00a0before barreling onward. Degraded<\/em> surprises, with something like a traditional structure and an almost pop-leaning melody to its chorus, twisting the bigness of\u00a0Preoccupations’\u00a0music\u00a0to\u00a0sideswipe the clear, finite smallness of its subjects and events. And the 11-minute-long Memory<\/em> is the album’s keystone, with\u00a0an intimate narrative and a truly timeless post-punk center. There’s love piercing through the iciness here, fighting its way forward in each of the song’s distinct sections.<\/p>\n

As always, there is something crystalline to what they’ve made, a blast of cold air in a burning hot place. \u00a0All this adds up to ‘Preoccupations’: a singular, bracing collection that proves what’s punishing can also be soothing, everything can change without disrupting your compass. Your best year can be your worst year at the same time. \u00a0Whatever sends you flying can also\u00a0help you land.<\/p>\n

Preoccupations have just finished up their tour with\u00a0Explosions in the Sky, which included a stop in LA for FYF where a huge crowd turned out to see the band\u00a0absolutely\u00a0destroy, playing songs from their new album and favourites from their previous\u00a0<\/em>LP. The non-stop touring continues into the fall with more tour dates added including extensive\u00a0touring of North America with support from Australia’s next big thing\u00a0Methyl Ethel. All dates are listed below.<\/p>\n

Preoccupations is undertaking an extensive world tour in support of the Preoccupations album release. Dates have been announced and include a US leg with Explosions In The Sky, Canadian dates in Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, and two packed months in the US and Europe. Full dates appear below.<\/p>\n

Tour dates<\/h5>\n

09.28.16 – The Rickshaw Theatre\u00a0– Vancouver, BC
\n10.01.16 – Mac Hall Ballroom – Calgary, AB ^
\n10.03.16 – WECC – Winnepeg, MB ^
\n10.04.16 – Fine Line Music Cafe – Minneapolis, Mn ^
\n10.05.16 – Thalia Hall – Chicago, Il ^
\n10.07.16 – Crofoot Ballroom – Pontiac, Mi ^
\n10.08.16 – Danforth Music Hall – Toronto, ON ^
\n10.11.16 – Theatre Fairmount – \u00a0Montreal, QC ^
\n10.12.16 – The Sinclair – Cambridge, Ma ^
\n10.14.16 – Warsaw – Brooklyn NY ^
\n10.15.16 – First Unitarian Church – Philadelphia, Pa ^
\n10.16.16 – Rock & Roll Hotel – Washington DC ^
\n10.18.16 – Masquerade – Atlanta, Ga ^
\n10.19.16 – Gasa Gasa – New Orleans, La ^
\n10.21.16 – The Mohawk – Austin, TX ^
\n10.22.16 – Club Dada – Dallas, TX
\n10.25.16 – Valley Bar – Phoenix, Az ^
\n10.26.16 – The Irenic – San Diego, CA ^
\n10.28.16 – The Roxy – Los Angeles, CA ^
\n10.29.16 – The Independent – San Francisco, CA ^
\n10.30.16 – The Independent – San Francisco, CA ^
\n11.1.6 – Mississippi Studios – Portland, OR ^
\n11.02.16 – Neumos – Seattle, Wa ^
\n11.05.15 – Brudenell Social Club – Leeds, UK
\n11.06.16 – Gorilla – Manchester, UK
\n11.07.16 – Oval Space – London, UK
\n11.08.16 – Exchange – Bristol, UK
\n11.09.16 – Haunt – Brighton, UK
\n11.10.16 – Le Guess Who Festival – Utrecht, NL
\n11.12.16 – Botanique – Brussels, BE
\n11.14.16 – Pumpehuset – Copenhagen, DK
\n11.15.16 – Molotow – Hamburg, DE
\n11.16.16 \u00a0Bi Nuu – Berlin, DE
\n11.18.16 – Musiques Volantes Festival – Metz, FR
\n11.19.16 – New Noise Festival – Paris, FR
\n11.21.16 – La Laiterie – Strasbourg, CH
\n11.22.16 – Klaus – Zurich, CH
\n11.23.16 – Magnolia – Milan, IT
\n11.24.16 – Quirinetta – Rome, IT
\n11.25.16 – Locomotiv – \u00a0Bologna, IT
\n11.26.16 – Suprette Festival – Neuchatel, CH
\n11.28.16 – Luxor – Cologne, DE
\n11.29.16 – Paradiso Noord – Amsterdam, NL<\/p>\n

^ w\/ Methyl Ethel<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Memory\u00a0is perhaps the most important moment on the new self-titled\u00a0Preoccupations album. At just over\u00a011 minutes long, it’s been described as\u00a0the album’s keystone, with\u00a0an intimate narrative […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23396,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[23,25,28,30,1907],"tags":[4959,4556,4957,1028,1322],"class_list":["post-23395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indie","category-live","category-music","category-new-release","category-news","tag-flemish-eye","tag-memory","tag-preoccupations","tag-self-titled","tag-wolf-parade"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/2f5572ec-dedc-492a-b002-5c70c8e98423.jpg?fit=900%2C707","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2B2TV-65l","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":24045,"url":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=24045","url_meta":{"origin":23395,"position":0},"title":"Preoccupations release visual accompaniment to ‘Memory’","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"December 2, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Preoccupations\u00a0wrap up 2016 by releasing\u00a0a video of epic proportions, unleashing the visual accompaniment for\u00a0Memory.\u00a0The song\u00a0featuring\u00a0Dan Boeckner\u00a0of\u00a0Wolf Parade is the cornerstone track from their recently released critically acclaimed self-titled album. Now, the band has unveiled a harrowing 11 minute short film that\u00a0NPR\u00a0calls \"just as fraught with nervous energy and tension as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "indie"","block_context":{"text":"indie","link":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"Preoccupations","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/unspecified.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/unspecified.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/unspecified.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/unspecified.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/unspecified.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":22642,"url":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=22642","url_meta":{"origin":23395,"position":1},"title":"Preoccupations release new song ‘Degraded’","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"July 17, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Right as the tumbling, knotted clusters of drum machine rhythms creep into the chilly three-note synth introduction of\u00a0Degraded, it becomes clear that one is hearing a song by\u00a0Preoccupations. \u00a0The second single to be released from their excellent upcoming self-titled album, Degraded is propelled by\u00a0Michael Wallace's crisp drumming and a probing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "indie"","block_context":{"text":"indie","link":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"Preoccupations","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/7fdbc8f9-ad34-4238-ac43-0c055421d12d.jpg?fit=624%2C416&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/7fdbc8f9-ad34-4238-ac43-0c055421d12d.jpg?fit=624%2C416&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/7fdbc8f9-ad34-4238-ac43-0c055421d12d.jpg?fit=624%2C416&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":22101,"url":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=22101","url_meta":{"origin":23395,"position":2},"title":"Preoccupations announce new self-titled album","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"June 15, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Preoccupations have announced details of their new self-titled album. When the band wrote and recorded their new record, they were in a state of near total instability. Years-long relationships ended,\u00a0and all four band members\u00a0moved to different cities. They decided\u00a0to change their band name, but hadn't come up with\u00a0a new one,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "guitar rock"","block_context":{"text":"guitar rock","link":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"Preoccupations","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/59641ccd-abd8-4312-83ca-1d7cbc6bb8b2.jpg?fit=600%2C444&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/59641ccd-abd8-4312-83ca-1d7cbc6bb8b2.jpg?fit=600%2C444&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/59641ccd-abd8-4312-83ca-1d7cbc6bb8b2.jpg?fit=600%2C444&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23433,"url":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=23433","url_meta":{"origin":23395,"position":3},"title":"The Tiny Record Shop set to host in-store performance with Preoccupations","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"September 14, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The\u00a0Tiny Record Shop\u00a0has\u00a0announced that\u00a0Preoccupations\u00a0will be performing\u00a0at\u00a0the\u00a0store on\u00a0Friday, September 16th\u00a0at\u00a07:00 pm. The band release\u00a0their new self-titled album the same day via\u00a0Flemish Eye, which is also Tiny Record Shop's\u00a0Album of the Month. Entry to the in-store is free with a non-perishable donation to\u00a0Covenant House Toronto. This exclusive appearance kicks off a massive\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "live"","block_context":{"text":"live","link":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=25"},"img":{"alt_text":"Preoccupations Tiny Record Shop poster","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/21352ca3-1a49-459f-8239-844201e52367-e1473813061554.gif?fit=997%2C652&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/21352ca3-1a49-459f-8239-844201e52367-e1473813061554.gif?fit=997%2C652&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/21352ca3-1a49-459f-8239-844201e52367-e1473813061554.gif?fit=997%2C652&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/21352ca3-1a49-459f-8239-844201e52367-e1473813061554.gif?fit=997%2C652&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":27880,"url":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=27880","url_meta":{"origin":23395,"position":4},"title":"Preoccupations announce ‘New Material’","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"January 17, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Preoccupations will return in 2018 with 'New Material' which builds a world that is dark and exhilarating by a band in their prime. The four-piece self-recorded the album but this time pulled in Justin Meldal-Johnson (M83, Wolf Alice) for mixing duties to amplify the band's singular post-punk grit. 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The EP is available now digitally as well. 'Cassette'\u00a0will be self released and distributed via Jagjaguwar worldwide and available via Flemish Eye in Canada. 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