Merchandise aren’t into that whole brevity thing. The Florida trio’s new album Totale Nite is a full-length affair comprising only five songs — Morrissey and Joy Division in an echo chamber terrorized by seven-minute nightmare after nine-minute freakout. It’s post-punk as art-addled prog (we’ve even watched them execute an 11-minute song atop a roof) and though it’s proven to be divisive, the band’s kept the conversation going. Their latest offering is the 15-minute short film above. “Rush of Blood” was shot and directed by the band while they were working on Totale Nite, and it captures a lot of the vibe of the album. In a press release, frontman Carson Cox explained their motivations: “‘Rush of Blood’ is an attempt at carrying over visual themes explored on the record (anxiety, mental fog, the elephant in the room). It was shot and edited in a style that is meant to reveal something to the viewer by its invisibility and hidden meaning.” Among the mind-scrambling highlights: lurking dudes, shiny guns, weird drugs, lava lamps, and a brutal salting of a seemingly innocent slug. Original music courtesy of Merchandise guitarist Dave Vassalotti.
Merchandise tour dates:
May 10 – New York, NY @ NYU Strawberry Festival
May 10 – Brooklyn, NY @ 285 Kent (solo performances)
May 15 – London, England- 100 Club
May 16 – Brighton, England @ The Haunt
May 17 – Brighton, England @ The Corn Exchange
May 18 – Utrecht, Netherlands @ Le Guess Who Festival
May 20 – Paris, France @ Fleche D’Or
May 21 – Rennes, France @ Ubu
May 22 – Lyon, France @ Le Sirius
May 23 – Nimes, France @ Paloma
May 24 – Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera Sound Festival
May 30 – Porto, Portugal @ Optimus Primavera Festival
June 1 – Austin, TX @ Chaos in Tejas †=
June 2 – Austin, TX @ Chaos in Tejas †=
June 4 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada †=
June 5 – Nashville, TN @ Stone Fox †=
June 6 – Louisville, KY @ The Workhouse Ballroom †=
June 7 – Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups †=
June 8 – Pittsburgh, PA @ The 6119 †=
June 9 – Boston, MA @ TT The Bears †=
June 10 – Burlington, VT @ The Monkey House †=
June 11 – Montreal, Quebec @ Il Motore †=
June 12 – Toronto, Ontario @ NXNE Music Festival †=
June 13 – Toronto, Ontario @ NXNE Music Festival †=
June 14 – Taylor, PA @ Underwood Skatepark †=
June 15 – Brooklyn, NY @ 285 Kent (Northside Music Festival) †=
June 17 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s †=
June 18 – Washington, DC @ DC9 †=
June 19 – Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter †=
June 20 – Charlotte, NC @ The Milestone †=
June 21 – Atlanta, GA @ 529 †=
June 22 – Gainesville, FL @ The Atlantic †=
June 23 – Miami, FL @ Churchill’s †=
June 24 – Tampa, FL @ TBA †
July 18 – Athens, GA @ Caledonia Lounge
July 19 – Indianapolis, IN @ Vogue Theater
July 20 – Chicago, IL @ Pitchfork Music Festival
July 22 – Minneapolis, MA @ Triple Rock Social Club %
July 23 – Iowa City, IA @ Gabe’s *
July 24 – St. Louis, MO @ Blank Space *
August 2 – Katowice, Poland @ OFF Festival
August 30 – Verona, Italy @ A Perfect Day !
August 31 – Salisbury, England @ End Of The Road Festival
September 7 – Isle Of Wight, England @ Bestival
* with Wet Hair
! with Primal Scream, Jake Bugg
% with Daughn Gibson
† with Milk Music
= with Destruction Unit
