Savannah, Georgia's Kylesa returns with their fourth full-length, their second as a five-piece with two drummers after 2006's monumental breakthrough Time Will Fuse Its Worth. Three years later, the band fully utilizes the many percussive possibilities that such a lineup provides, immediately apparent on the blistering opening track, "Scapegoat."
Kylesa has also progressed with their songwriting, both in terms of the psychedelia suggested on the previous LP and the sheer brute force and memorable structures for which they've become known over the course of their three albums and several EPs. The occasional blackened death metal feel of "Said and Done" and the piano-laced, Middle-Eastern-tinged "Running Red" highlight this diversity of sound, yet it remains distinctly Kylesa. The percussion-heavy "Unknown Awareness" is perhaps the most emotionally heavy tune the band has ever written.
Static Tensions is Kylesa's most definitive statement and will surely top year-end lists across the board. Featuring artwork by John Dyer Baizley of Baroness, the album's visual aesthetic matches the cerebral nature of the music. With a massive touring schedule planned throughout 2009, Kylesa will be out constantly in full support of their singular, unique vision.
EAST COAST DATES W/ AMEBIX
1/29 * Bowery Ballroom, NYC
1/30 * AS220, Providence, RI
1/31 * Starlite Theater, Phila, PA
JAPAN DATES W/ BIRUSHANAH
2/6 * Huck Finn, Nagoya
2/7 * Earthdom, Tokyo
2/8 * TBA, Tokyo
2/11 * 51, Gifu
2/13 * Graf, Fukuoka
2/14 * Club Squad, Yamaguchi
2/15 * Club Drop, Osaka
US AND CANADA DATES W/ THE HAUNTED AND NACHTMYSTIUM
4/2 * The Glass House, Pomona, CA
4/3 * Key Club, W. Hollywood, CA
4/4 * Slim's, San Francisco, CA
4/5 * Hawthorne Theater, PDX, OR
4/6 * Neumos, Seattle, WA
4/7 * Commodore, Vancouver, BC
4/8 * Starlite, Edmonton, AB
4/9 * The Warehouse, Calgary AB
4/11 * Royal Albert, Winnipeg MB
4/12 * Station 4, Minneapolis, MN
4/13 * The Pearl Room, Mokena IL
4/14 * Majestic Theatre, Detroit, MI
4/15 * Opera House, Toronto ON
4/16 * Club Soda, Montreal QC
4/17 * Palladium, Worcester, MA
4/19 * BB King's, New York, NY
4/21 * Mr. Smalls, Millvale, PA
4/22 Jaxx, Springfield, VA
4/23 * Volume 11, Raleigh, NC
4/24 * The Masquerade, Atlanta GA