Pop fiends, here's your warning: UK-based dream-pop trio Fear Of Men slide into town tomorrow night and bring along an arresting, aqueous sound that has found favor with folks at Clicky Clicky HQ. The jangly and light Brighton, England combo forms the creamy middle of a formidable bill cookie-sandwiched by Brooklyn indie pop heroes The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart and Ablebody, the primary musical vehicle of The Pains' on again/off sideman Christoph Hochheim.
Fear Of Men, touring their expansive and freshly released Kanine Records debut LP Loom (by our reckoning 2013's Early Fragments compilation doesn't qualify as such), provide companionship to The Pains on the second leg of the Brooklyn act's North American trek ahead of the May 13 release of Days Of Abandon, its forthcoming third LP. Fear Of Men formed in 2011 and garnered raves early on with a smattering of demos and 7" singles released on a variety of UK labels including Clicky Clicky faves Italian Beach Babes and Too Pure. The aforementioned Early Fragments collected much of this early work, and was Fear Of Men's first release on Kanine. For its part, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart are touring with a revamped lineup, with only earnest frontman Kip Berman remaining from among the personnel that recorded 2011's life-affirming LP Belong for the very highly esteemed Slumberland label. Word in the digital underground [oh how I like to funk thee -- Ed.] is that Days Of Abandon marks a sea change for the band, so tomorrow's show presents your chance to gain an advance look at The Pains Mach II.
From Boston, the three acts head westwards and back; they wrap the tour in a few weeks at New York's delightful Bowery Ballroom, and the full remaining tour itinerary is posted at the foot of this piece. Details of Thursday's Brighton Music Hall show can be inspected right here, and Fear Of Men's Loom can be purchased directly from the band right here (a two-color vinyl version was on offer from Kanine for Record Store Day, so if you are lucky/particularly motivated you may be able to track one down). A single from Loom titled "Luna," was issued April 7 by another Clicky Clicky favorite label, Art Is Hard, and we've posted an embed of the tune below for your listening pleasure. If you've got the scratch to purchase the single as an import, it is pressed to a 5" flexi-disc (!) and packaged with a 20-page 'zine and, well, that's awesome -- buy it here. Below that stream is another for the tune "Alta/Waterfall," whose mesmerizing hooks and beautiful vocals make the song among the most fetching of the year to date. Kanine Records released Loom yesterday. Below the Fear cuts is the absolutely snappy and '80s-tastic recent single from The Pains, "Simple And Sure;" a slightly darker second single "Eurydice" was released to the wilds of the Internerds more recently, but we're not posting it as the Soundcloud stream seems borked. Finally, we also present for your edification Ablebody's eery and sparkling forthcoming A-side "After Hours," which will be released May 20. -- Dillon Riley
04.24 -- Brighton Music Hall -- Allston, MA
04.25 -- Le Belmont -- Montreal, PQ
04.26 -- Horseshoe Tavern -- Toronto, ON
04.28 -- Empty Bottle -- Chicago, IL
04.29 -- Triple Rock -- Minneapolis, MN
05.02 -- Fortune Sound Club -- Vancouver, BC
05.03 -- The Vera Project -- Seattle, WA
05.04 -- Holocene -- Portland, OR
05.06 -- The Independent -- San Francisco, CA
05.07 -- Troubadour -- Los Angeles, CA
05.09 -- The Casbah -- San Diego, CA
05.10 -- The Crescent Ballroom -- Phoenix, AZ
05.11 -- Sister -- Albuquerque, NM
05.13 -- Larimer Lounge -- Denver, CO
05.15 -- The Record Bar -- Kansas City, MO
05.16 -- Zanzabar -- Louisville, KY
05.17 -- Rumba Café -- Columbus, OH
05.18 -- Club Café -- Pittsburgh, PA
05.19 -- Johnny Brenda's -- Philadelphia, PA
05.21 -- Rock 'n' Roll Hotel -- Washington, DC
05.22 -- Bowery Ballroom -- New York, NY
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