Queensland-bred instrumental prog/experimental/post-rock three-piece Balloons Kill Babies are getting ready to hit the road this July for a run of shows up and down the east coast in support of their just-revealed new single Patches In The Sky, the band has announced.
The new work is a triumphant, instrumentally lush tapestry of peaks, troughs, builds, explosions, sonic twists and structural turns, the kind of ominously thunderous soundscape that fans of acts such as God Is An Astronaut, This Will Destroy You and even more left-field concerns such as Scale The Summit or The Samuel Jackson Five should be quick to warm to. Frantic drum work, fluid bass lines and bipolar guitar drive the single from start to finish, with no catchy vocal hook on which to rely — and yet you'll be reaching for that 'Play' button the second it's over regardless. It's pretty masterful stuff.
Set for release on Friday, 19 June, the layered, wandering soundscape of Patches In The Sky precedes an eponymous eight-date tour, kicking off in the regional centre of Gladstone on Friday, 3 July, when they play the Tennis Club with Drawcard, Red In Tooth and End Us. The following evening, the same troupe of acts heads to Mackay, where they'll also be joined by Coffin Dogs and Infinova at McGuire's, before heading back down Sydney-ways to hit The Bald Faced Stag with Transience, Mercury Sky and Enter Reality on Friday, 17 July.
Guests are yet to be announced for Penrith's gig, at Tattersalls, on Saturday, 18 July, while Colibrium, The Overview Effect and Transience will be on board for Balloons Kill Babies' Adelaide show at the Worldsend Hotel on 24 July. They hit Melbourne's Toff In Town on 25 July with Transience, Mushroom Giant and I Am Duckeye before backing up the following day at the Brunswick Hotel, with I Am Duckeye offering sole support.
The tour wraps up at home in Brisbane, at the New Globe Theatre, on Saturday, August 1, where they're once more joined by Transience and Red In Tooth as well as The Iron Eye and Kodiak Empire.
The new single's arrival will be heralded by the release of several tour-exclusive remixes of Patches In The Sky, soon after the song's digital release via iTunes and the Balloons Kill Babies Bandcamp on Friday, 19 June. Remixes will follow, and only be available at shows and in CD format. See the store for more information.
For more details on Balloons Kill Babies' forthcoming tour, see theGuide or check The Music App.
