The Growlers US tour kicks off tonight in support of their upcoming album, Chinese Fountain. Hear the incredible, eponymous new single now!

The Growlers' US tour kicks off tonight in support of their upcoming new album, Chinese Fountain (out September 23rd on Everloving).

"Chinese Fountain," the eponymous single, is streaming now onSoundcloud and as instant download for all pre-orders of the album!



"On the title track from The Growlers’ forthcoming fifth album, the taut and tangy Chinese Fountain, the California band tackles the future by looking to the past. 'The Internet is bigger than Jesus and John Lennon,' singer Brooks Nielsen deadpans atop a funky disco beat, 'Nobody wants to know where we’re headed.'" Flavorwire
 

North American Tour Dates:

09/05 - Denver, CO - Hi Dive
09/06 - Denver, CO - Hi Dive
09/08 - Lawrence, KS - Bottleneck
09/09 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry
09/10 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
09/11 - Ann Arbor, MI - Blind Pig
09/12 - Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
09/13 - Montreal, QC - Il Motore
09/14 - Allston, MA - Brighton Music Hall
09/17 - Providence, RI - Columbus Theatre
09/18 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
09/19 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
09/20 - Washington, DC - Black Cat Mainstage
09/22 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl
09/23 - Nashville, TN - Exit In
09/24 - Memphis, TN - Hi Tone Cafe
09/25 - Dallas, TX - Dada
09/26 - Houston, TX - Fitzgerald's Upstairs
09/27 - Austin, TX - Scoot Inn
09/28 - San Antonio, TX @ 502 Bar

10/07 - Fresno, CA - Frank's Place
10/10 - Victoria, BC - Upstairs Cabaret
10/11 - Vancouver, BC - The Rickshaw
10/14 - Eugene, OR - WOW Hall
10/15 - Seattle, WA - Chop Suey
10/16 - Spokane, WA - The Bartlett
10/17 - Portland, OR - Alhambra Theatre
10/18-19 - San Francisco, CA - Treasure Island Festival
10/25 - Orange County, CA - BEACH GOTH III at The Observatory

Early love for the first single off Chinese Fountain, "Big Toe"
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"On "Big Toe," the band picks up where their nine-song Gilded Pleasures EP left off in November, delivering another trademark nugget of salt-water psychedelia, entrancing listeners with a compelling groove as singer Brooks Nielsen croons atop with slacker swagger.” SPIN

“After a few years of seemingly constant recording and touring, they’ve refined their sound into a poppy, retro-leaning style that they call “beach goth,” a combination of chiming, reverb-drenched guitars, snappy drums, and frontman Brooks Nielsen’s languid vocals, which suggest a guy who never takes his shades off, even indoors.” Entertainment Weekly

"'Big Toe' fuses their surf rock roots with a gritty rockabilly vibe. If it's any indicator, Chinese Fountain is sure to be an album loaded with post-punk charm.” Under The Radar

“...just perfect for these days where you start realizing that the recently ditched bitching about cold weather is about to switch over to humidity rants.” CMJ

"The beach drifting sound of The Growlers only continues to get bigger, the chops are tighter, and production is cleaner.” IMPOSE

"It's still got the SoCal, so-gonna-take-my-time-with-this approach to psychedelia. But where the edge of their previous material started and stopped in the fuzz of the guitars, "Big Toe" extends a mean tongue to the lyrical content.” Indie Shuffle

"If you don’t listen to what The Growlers are saying on “Big Toe,” their first released track off of Chinese Fountain, the jangle-y tune sounds absolutely delightful. If you do happen to catch what they’re crooning, the straight-from-the-gutter lyrics put the listener into both a strangely pleasant and unsettled equilibrium—a place usually reserved for tunes by The Magnetic Fields and Belle & Sebastian.” Anthemic

* BIO *

The music of The Growlers is unmistakable.

Sure, you can hone in on some influences baked into the work of this California-bred band. Heck, even they’d cop to a few, like Ricky Nelson and The Clash. But once those same RIYL tags have been filtered through the minds and hands and voices of this five-piece, there’s simply nothing else like it.

The Growlers took the phrase “Beach Goth” as an apt descriptor of their music. Sunburned and salty, that term perfectly describes their distinctive melding of reverb heavy surf guitar and Bakersfield-style honky tonk with ‘80s post-punk.

This is especially true of Chinese Fountain, The Growlers’ fifth full-length set to be released on September 23rd via Everloving Records. The 11 songs found on it are some of the strongest that they’ve committed to tape yet; a byproduct not only of eight years in the trenches together, but finely honing their gypsy folk dirges and psychedelic sea shanties to fans at close to 150 shows each year. The connection between vocalist Brooks Nielsen and guitarist Matt Taylor (the principal songwriters of the group) has only grown deeper.

“The band played better than they’ve ever played,” says Nielsen. “We’ve got the process down now. There’s less screwing around to get the songs laid out and we weren’t waiting around for take after take. We knew it and we played without much time to spare.”

That confidence bleeds through every track on Chinese Fountain, with the band assured enough to layer in shades of many new influences: the loping ska beat of “Dull Boy” and “Going Gets Tuff,” the playful disco beat behind the title track, or the Teardrop Explodes-like agitation of “Good Advice.”

Not that the band left themselves much room to second-guess anything. The five spent about three weeks writing the tracks, and about half that time in the studio recording them. That may sound rushed, but it’s not as if you can hear any strain on the finished product; Chinese Fountain is as rock solid and watertight as anything in their still-growing discography.

There’s evolution to be heard in Chinese Fountain as well, courtesy of some of Nielsen’s most pointed and poignant lyrics to date. He takes our obsession with the online world to task on the funky title track. When he drops the bomb that obliterates that most famous of Beatles’ claims with “The internet is bigger than Jesus or John Lennon” he re-contextualizes Marshall McLuhan’s “the medium is the message” in the same breath. He urges positivity no matter the obstacles (“Going Gets Tuff”). Too, he reveals a tattered heart to the world on tracks like “Rare Hearts” and “Love Test.”

“This is my chance to let it all out,” Nielsen says of these songs. “I kind of bottle things up and don’t really get emotional. But I think if I don’t open up, I’d be a really stale person.”

Recently, the band announced the line up for Beach Goth III on October 25th at The Observatory!

Hosted by Pauly Shore in Orange County, CA, Beach Goth is a cultural event that's grown organically by leaps and bounds since its inception and this year promises to be the biggest yet... 

Line Up:
The Growlers, The Drums, DIIV, GZA, Joyce Manor, MØ, The Sweet & Tender Hooligans, Bleached, Alice Glass of Crystal Castles DJ Set, La Femme, Chelsea Wolfe, Andrew Jackson Jihad, Mariachi El Bronx, HOSTED by Pauly Shore, The Spits, Cherry Glazerr, The Garden, The Dickies, Mystic Braves, The Aquadolls, Plague Vendor, Empress Of, Cosmonauts, Mr Elevator & The Brain Hotel, Corners, The Abigails,  Broncho, LA Witch, Cat Signs, Cheryll, Prism Tats, Pink X & many more! 3 Stages (Outdoors & Indoors), Rides, Electric Carney Barney Rave, Beach Goth Island, Lazer Tag, Costume Contest & more!

Tickets on sale and going fast!