New York, NY. (Top40 Charts/ Gigantic Records) - Brooklyn indie darlings Harlem Shakes will release their debut LP, 'Technicolor Health', on March 24, 2009 courtesy of New York's Gigantic Records.
The full-length follows the Shakes' inimitable, self-released 2007 EP, 'Burning Birthdays', which earned generous praise from Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, SPIN, The Village Voice, and a host of blogs. Pitchfork admired the band's 'frenetic clip of hooks,' and sometime Magnetic Field-er LD Beghtol of The Voice called them 'lethally charming' and one of 'the Best of New York.'
After supporting the EP on the back of tours with Deerhoof, Vampire Weekend, and Beirut, the band entered the studio with Chris Zane (Les Savy Fav, The Walkmen, Passion Pit) to record what would become 'Technicolor Health'.
The result is one of the most quietly ambitious pop albums in ages. Much like Blur fused English pop traditions and contemporary sonics to forge Brit Pop, Harlem Shakes meld the Great American Songbook with unmistakably contemporary textures, creating what one might call 'Am Pop.'
In other news, the Shakes will be hitting the road with Tokyo Police Club later this month, in a quick run of dates down the East Coast, before making the trek to Austin, Texas for this year's SXSW music festival.
What The Press Said About Harlem Shakes' 'Burning Birthdays' EP:
'Unlike so many up-and-coming New York bands, the Shakes avoid lingering in one narrow-minded framework. The harmonies may lend themselves to some throwback Spector-era comparisons, and some of the grander choruses may resemble a primordial New Pornographers or Walkmen, but thanks to a frenetic clip of hooks, you can't simply pigeonhole Burning Birthdays.' - Pitchfork
'Harlem Shakes are one of the hottest bands in Brooklyn right now. They apply a rough-and-ready New York aesthetic - deliciously sloppy guitars, speeding drum and bass lines - to the soaring sounds of the golden age of '50s rock.' - Playboy
'Burning Birthdays continues like a game of hide and seek in which the Harlem Shakes jump and shiver within a decadent soundscape of psychedelic pop rock.' - Nylon
Harlem Shakes 2009 Tour Dates:
(Dates and information subject to change.)
02-25 New York, NY - Webster Hall * &
02-26 Washington, DC - Black Cat * &
02-27 Swarthmore, PA - Swarthmore College *
02-28 Pittsburgh, PA - Mr Smalls *
03-01 Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop *
03-02 Columbus, OH - Basement *
03-03 Covington, KN - Mad Hatter *
03-05 Atlanta, GA - Earl *
03-06 Talahassee, FL - Downunder *
03-07 Orlando, FL - The Social *
* w/Tokyo Police Club
& w/ Born Ruffians
'Technicolor Health' Tracklisting:
01. Nothing But Change Part II
02. Strictly Game
03. TFO
04. Niagara Falls
05. Sunlight
06. Unhurried Hearts (Passaic Pastoral)
07. Winter Water
08. Natural Man
09. Radio Orlando
10. Technicolor Health
