The Violent Femmes this summer will release Hotel Last Resort, the band’s 10th studio album and first in three years — and the first recorded by the group’s new four-piece lineup. The record is preceded by the title track, featuring Television’s Tom Verlaine, which you can stream below.
The album is due out July 26, and can be pre-ordered now via online outlets.
The Femmes — original members Gordon Gano and Brian Ritchie, now joined by longtime Horns of Dilemma members John Sparrow and Blaise Garza — recorded the 13-track album in Denver, enlisting help from both Verlaine and pro skateboarder Stefan Janoski, who sings a “rambunctious” new version of “I’m Nothing” off 1994’s New Times.
The album also features a cover of “I’m Not Gonna Cry” by Greek band Pyx Lax, apparently translated from Greek by Gano himself. And the record ends with a new arrangement of Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America,” complete with “an improvised free jazz coda that serves as an ideal encapsulation of both the American spirit and Violent Femmes’ own remarkable contribution to the country’s musical canon.”
In a news release announcing the album, Ritchie, the band’s bassist, says:
“I think it’s probably the best one we’ve made since Hallowed Ground. Which is a long time. It’s just a very focused album, the songs all hold together. It’s a classic album, in the sense that people should actually sit down and listen to the whole thing. It’s not too long. It’s short, it’s punchy, it’s solid, it’s to the point, goes a few different directions but it always comes back to the core approach and then it’s over. Hopefully you’ll think ‘I want to hear that again.'”
The Femmes will be touring this summer both with co-headliners X and Ben Folds.
Below, hear the album’s title track, see the tracklist and check out the band’s tour dates.
Violent Femmes, Hotel Last Resort
1. “Another Chorus”
2. “I Get What I Want”
3. “I’m Nothing” (Featuring Stefan Janoski)
4. “Adam Was A Man
5. “Not OK”
6. “Hotel Last Resort” (Featuring Tom Verlaine)
7. “Everlasting You”
8. “It’s All Or Nothing”
9. “I’m Not Gonna Cry”
10, “This Free Ride”
11. “Paris To Sleep”
12. “Sleepin’ At The Meetin'”
13. “God Bless America”
Violent Femmes and X tour dates
May 3: Brooklyn Bowl, Las Vegas, NV (No X)
May 4: BeachLife, Redondo Beach, CA (No X)
May 5: Humphrey’s, San Diego, CA
May 7: The Van Buren, Phoenix, AZ
May 9: Moody Theater/ACL Live, Austin, TX
May 10: House Of Blues, Houston, TX
May 11: KAABOO Texas, Arlington, TX
May 13: Aztec Center, San Antonio, TX
May 14: Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa, OK
May 16: Graceland, Memphis, TN
May 17: The Pageant, St. Louis, MO
May 18: The Sylvee, Madison, WI (No X)
Ben Folds and Violent Femmes tour dates
July 28: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT
July 30: The Anthem, Washington, DC
Aug. 1: The Rooftop at Pier 17, New York, NY
Aug. 2: Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, NJ
Aug. 3: Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion, Boston, MA
Aug. 4: Bold Point Park, East Providence, RI
Aug. 6: Stage AE Outdoors, Pittsburgh, PA
Aug. 8: Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre, Charlotte, NC
Aug. 9: Ascend Amphitheater Nashville, TN
Aug. 10: Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn at White River State Park, Indianapolis, IN
Aug. 11: Meadow Brook Amphitheatre, Detroit, MI
Aug. 14: Surly Brewing Company, Minneapolis, MN
Aug. 15: Water Works Park Amphitheater, Des Moines, IA
Aug. 16: Starlight Theatre, Kansas City, MO
PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS
- Violent Femmes set U.S. co-headlining tour with Ben Folds following dates with X
- Violent Femmes and X double up for American co-headlining tour this May
- Echo & The Bunnymen, Violent Femmes team up for 2nd U.S. summer co-headlining tour
- Violent Femmes announce U.S. tour, enlist tribute act Dirty Femmes to open first show
- Watch: Violent Femmes bring ‘American Music,’ ‘Kiss Off’ to ‘CBS This Morning’
