Following a kaleidoscopic, megamix-style preview of tUnE-yArDs’ Nikki Nack (italics definitely hers, by the way), Merrill Garbus has shared “Water Fountain,” the first of the album’s songs to get a full listen, and it sounds like a Super Soaker filled with liquid delirium.
Full of sing-song chants, clanking percussion, and plenty of the gentle mayhem that distinguished tUnE-yArDs’ landmark 2011 album W H O K I L L, “Water Fountain” promises to be the soundtrack to all your double-Dutch competitions this summer. Over a handclap pattern straight out of the “Diwali” riddim, Garbus summons her inner Tom Tom Club in yelps and whoops, singing through what sounds like a busted transistor radio. But don’t be deceived: Beneath all those layers of splotchy color, “Water Fountain” is surprisingly dark, full of lyrics that touch on violence and privation. Somehow, though, the dissonance between the jubilant mood and the ominous imagery just makes the song that much more compelling.
Nikki Nack is out May 6 on 4AD; pre-orders of the album from the 4AD store and the tUnE-yArDs store will include a bonus “Water Fall” seven-inch, and the song is also available as an “instant grat” download with iTunes pre-orders. See below for the band’s spring tour dates.
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April 23 – Pepsi Center, Denver, CO *
April 26 – Starlight Theatre, Kansas City, MO *
April 27 – Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, MO *
April 29 – Schottenstein Center, Columbus, OH *
May 1 – Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN *
May 2 – Aarons Amphitheatre at Lakewood, Atlanta, GA *
May 5 – Masonic Lodge @ Hollywood Forever, Los Angeles, CA
May 7 – Rough Trade, Brooklyn, NY
May 12 – Village Underground, London, UK ^
May 14 – Berghain, Berlin, Germany ^
May 15 – Nochtspeicher, Hamburg, Germany ^
May 16 – Les Nuits Botanique, Brussels, Belgium ^
May 18 – Bitterzoet, Amsterdam, Netherlands ^
May 19 – Cafe De La Danse, Paris, France ^
May 23 – Les Schwab Amphitheater, Bend, OR
May 25 – Sasquatch Festival, George, WA
May 26 – Knitting Factory Concert House, Boise, ID ^
May 27 – Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT ^
May 30 – Granada Theater, Dallas, TX ^
June 1 – Free Press Summer Fest, Houston, TX
June 3 – The Crescent Ballroom, Phoenix, AZ ^
June 5 – The Fonda Theatre, Los Angeles, CA ^
June 6 – The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA ^
June 13 – 9:30 Club, Washington, DC ^
June 15 – Union Transfer , Philadelphia, PA ^
June 16 – Royale Boston, Boston, MA ^
June 18 – La Tulipe, Montreal, QC ^
June 19 – Massey Hall, Toronto, ON ^
June 21 – Firefly Music Festival, Dover, DE
June 22 – Webster Hall, New York, NY ^
June 23 – Webster Hall, New York, NY ^
June 26 – Concorde 2, Brighton, UK
June 30 – Gorilla, Manchester, UK
July 1 – Cockpit, Leeds, UK
July 2 – Trinity, Bristol, UK
July 17 – First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
July 19 – Pitchfork Music Festival, Chicago, IL
July 20 – Forecastle Festival, Louisville, KY
September 3 – Brixton Electric, London, UK
^ = with Sylvan Esso
