"[AZAR] feels like an old friend; a mellow orchestral pop album soaked in limpid pools of keyboard, Low/Ida vocal harmonies...and subtly psychedelic touches" - Magnet
Venice is Sinking has announced a new batch of summer tour dates in support of its recently released album, AZAR. AZAR, the Athens' quintent's lush, Scott Solter-recorded sophomore effort, has garnered quite a bit of acclaim:
"...some of lushest, most beautifully orchestrated pop I’ve heard this year." - NPR
"...AZAR finds Venice Is Sinking expanding on the orchestral, ambient, pop that initially caught my ear invoking the mellower side of Yo La Tengo/Mojave 3." - Aquarium Drunkard
"...back with their sophomore album AZAR, they have outdone themselves in every way." – PopMatters
"[AZAR] feels like an old friend; a mellow orchestral pop album soaked in limpid pools of keyboard, Low/Ida vocal harmonies...and subtly psychedelic touches" – Magnet
"...a foggy, majestic collection of slowcore anthems" – Under The Radar
"Venice is Sinking has appeal that can transcend those who simply like slow music...sitting still during the playing of AZAR, while certainly acceptable, wouldn't do it proper justice. Four stars." – Venus
"Venice is Sinking rivals the best ambient rock bands. The harmonies and orchestral feel of the tracks transcend their genre, making it not simply slow music, but experimental, uplifting, and fascinating." – Paste
The band recently premiered its video for "Ryan's Song" at Stereogum and an MP3 for "Okay" at Magnet Magazine.
Check out the video for "Ryan's Song" at Stereogum!
Though Venice is Sinking puts in a good amount of dates each year, the band's focus has often remained regional out of necessity. Lucas Jensen, the band's drummer, explains: "We have a landscape architect, a biochemist, a landscaper, and two professional students in the band, so getting out there is tough. We love making music, but we love our careers, too." The band continues its tradition of playing non-traditional venues with a show at Atlanta's High Museum of Art. VIS once played the Athens Clarke-County public library on Super Bowl Sunday and supported racing pigs and babies at The Elberton 12 County Fair.
In between bouts of touring this summer, Venice is Sinking will be hard at work making a video for the song "Okay" as well as a five song "Okay" EP/maxi-single. The band also hopes to release its already-completed third album this fall, an album recorded live to tape with two mics by Drive-By Truckers producer David Barbe. Venice is Sinking is currently writing its fourth album, which they hope to start recording next year. One word: reggaeton.
Venice is Sinking Tour Dates
06.18.09 - Atlanta, GA - The High Museum of Art
06.19.09 - Decatur, GA - Kavarna
06.27.09 - Athens, GA - Athfest Main Stage
07.08.09 - Charlotte, NC - Snug Harbor
07.09.09 - New York, NY - Fontanas
07.10.09 - New York, NY - Pianos
07.11.09 - Chapel Hill, NC - 2702 Lawndale (AKA Craig's House)
07.12.09 - Columbia, SC - New Brookland Tavern
07.18.09 - Savannah, GA - The Sentient Bean
07.24.09 - Athens, GA - Georgia Theatre - w/ Lazer/Wülf, Madeline, and Pride Parade
07.30.09 - Lexington, KY - Al's Bar
07.31.09 - Champaign, IL - Bentley's Pub
08.01.09 - Daytrotter Session
08.01.09 - St. Louis, MO - Lemmons
08.07.09 - Orlando, FL - Will's Pub - w/ Candy Bars
08.08.09 - Tampa, FL (Ybor City) - New World Brewery - w/ Candy Bars
The new album, AZAR, finds Venice is Sinking widening its palette and deepening its focus, tackling the idea of location’s ability to influence our lives. Growing musically since the band’s debut, the group, challenged by engineer Scott Solter (Mountain Goats, John Vanderslice, Pattern is Movement), shed the “space rock” designation, from the wide-eyed “Iron Range” to the David Lynch prom theme of “Wetlands Dancehall”, from the heart wrenching “Young Master Sunshine” to the sardonic pop of “Okay”. AZAR is a dynamic work of beauty and ambition: the songs are meticulous, vertical creations, tackling tiny, specific moments and exploding them outwards.
If AZAR sounds wistful, it’s because the band members somewhat silently assumed it would be their last album, given their uncertain and diffuse futures. They entered Solter’s North Carolina studio in May of 2007 determined to make the record they had always wanted to make, traveling the horrific I-85 corridor from Athens to Charlotte nearly every weekend for the next eight months in an arduous and taxing process during which one band member left amicably, one member got divorced, and gas prices soared to over three dollars a gallon.
AZAR is a more democratic album, with the four remaining members all contributing songwriting. Keyboardist James Sewell’s haunting AZAR theme reoccurs in permutations throughout the record, and drummer Lucas Jensen (ex-Pacific UV) offered lyrics and songcraft on three songs. Solter’s touch pushed the band to work outside its comfort zone and explore varied, mutated instrumentation and experimental touches that were hinted at on Sorry About The Flowers, but never fully realized. Most importantly, AZAR feels like one thing, conceptually and sonically united behind the idea that our surroundings color even the smallest events in our lives.
Things did get better for the band. Jeremy Sellers stepped in on bass, the first album came out in China (!) via Tag Team Records, and the band got the unique opportunity to make a third album right after the AZAR sessions ended. This third LP, whose release and title have yet to be determined, was recorded over one week at Athens’ historic Georgia Theatre live to tape with only two microphones in a manner not dissimilar to the Cowboy Junkies’ seminal Trinity Sessions. The new material, overseen by David Barbe (Drive-By Truckers, Bettye Lavette), is poppier and twangier, a stark contrast to AZAR and indicative of Venice is Sinking’s chimerical influences.
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