Skip to content
Premieres

Ha Ha Tonka Announce Lush New Album With Bouncy Bummer ‘Colorful Kids’

Ha Ha Tonka

Ha Ha Tonka will return this fall with their fourth album, Lessons, due September 24 via Bloodshot Records. Produced by Lucius drummer Dan Molad alongside the Ryantist, the follow-up to 2011’s Death of a Decade marks a departure from the Missouri-reared crew’s traditionally stripped-down sound to a style replete with lush instrumentation. 

Case in point: “Colorful Kids,” the first tune to surface from the upcoming 14-track LP. Singer-guitarist Brian Roberts recounts a tale of corruption and vanishing youth, but his deep-fried vocals effortlessly ride a bright, pinched melody through the whole downward spiral. “That’s just the way it is / Even the colourful kids eventually will fade into the black-and-white,” he sings. “Come out the other side an ugly shade of gray.” 

Ha Ha Tonka also have an extensive North American tour planned, with gigs booked from September 26 to November 29. Scroll down for more details, plus the full track list for Lessons.

Lessons track list: 

1. “Dead to the World”
2. “Colorful Kids” 
3. “Staring at the End of Our Lives”
4. “Synthetic Love” 
5. “Arabella” 
6. “Lessons” 
7. “American Ambition”
8. “Synthetic Hearts”
9. “Rewrite Our Lives”
10. “Cold Forgiver”
11. “Pied Pipers”
12. “The Past Has Arms”
13. “Terrible Tomorrow”
14. “Prove the World Wrong”

Ha Ha Tonka tour dates: 

September 26 – Cincinnati, OH @ Midpoint Music Festival
September 27 – Columbia, MO @ Blue Note
September 28 – Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck
October 2 – Las Vegas, NV @ LVCS
October 3 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah
October 4 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Satellite
October 5 – San Francisco, CA @ Thee Parkside
October 7 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
October 8 – Bellingham, WA @ Wild Buffalo House
October 9 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern
October 11 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Garage On Beck
October 12 – Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive
October 18 – Springfield, MO @ Lindberg’s
October 19 – Ozark, KS @ Mulberry Mountain
October 22 – Iowa City, IA @ The Mill
October 23 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry
October 24 – Green Bay, WI @ Crunchy Frog
October 25 – Milwaukee, WI @ Club Garibaldi
October 26 – Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall
November 8 – Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe
November 9 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern
November 13 – Allston, MA @ Great Scott
November 14 – New York, NY @ The Studio
November 15 – Philadelphia, PA @ Milkboy
November 16 – Washington, D.C. @ Rock N Roll Hotel
November 19 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
November 22 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
November 23 – Austin, TX @ Stubbs Jr.
November 29 – St. Louis, MO @ Plush