A big congrats to This Is The Kit for today's announcement that they've signed to Rough Trade Records — progenitor of the indie music ideal — original home to legends like The Smiths & The Strokes — as well as a haven for quirkier artists like Pantha Du Prince, Scritti Politti and Jeffrey Lewis (who are just as close to our hearts, if not closer, than some of the label's 'hitmakers').
A new album by This Is The Kit is in the works — and summer & autumn tour dates have been announced: June in Brooklyn, New York and at Eaux Claires Festival in the Wisconsin; then September in the United Kingdom. (Full tour dates list below.) To whet your appetite, watch this snippet of the band playing a new song from a forthcoming live session.
If you haven't already checked out TITK's music after years of our hectoring, now is the time to do so, so you can credibly say you knew them back when. This streaming playlist is a good entry point: http://smarturl.it/introducingtitk. The link goes to both Apple Music & Spotify but we've embedded the Spotify version below.
This marks the third Brassland artist to graduate on to the Beggars Group of labels — famously with The National who are now on 4AD, less so with our Australian friends in Devastations. (They were one of the final signings to the Beggars label before it merged with 4AD. Devastations released the most-excellent Yes, U on that label before disbanding. That record includes one of our all-time-favorite songs-we-wish-we-put-out "The Pest.")
Brassland does have future recordings plans with Kate Stables — but, for now, we're wishing the whole band & their team tons of luck taking things to The Next Level...as they say.
Here are those tour dates — including a proper New York debut this June. We'll be there in the front row, cheering them along:
• May 19 – The Great Escape Festival, Brighton, UK
• Jun 16/17 – Eaux Claires Festival, Wisconsin, USA
• Jun 20 – Baby’s All Right, Brooklyn, USA
• Jul 16 – Folk by the Oak Festival, Herts, UK
• Jul 28 – Port Eliot Festival, Cornwall, UK
• Jul 29 – Farmfest, Somerset, UK
• Jul 30 – Cloudspotting, Lancashire, UK
• Aug 05 – Valley Festival, Bristol, UK
• Aug 11/12 – Haven Festival, Copenhagen, DK
• Aug 18-20 – Green Man Festival, Brecon Beacons, UK
• Aug 25 – Purbeck Valley Folk Festival, UK
• Sep 02 – Electric Fields Festival, Dumfries, UK
• Sep 16 – The Hubs, Sheffield, UK
• Sep 17 – Gorilla, Manchester, UK
• Sep 20 – Revelation at St Mary’s, Ashford, UK
• Sep 21 – Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, UK
Info and tickets: smarturl.it/thesearetheshows
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