Sign up for our mailing list Real artists creating records on their own terms
Close

Sign up for our mailing list

News

Cass McCombs Announces New Album, Tip of the Sphere, Out February 8, 2019 On ANTI- Records, And North American Tour
Tuesday, October 30th, 2018

Cass McCombs Announces New Album, Tip of the Sphere, Out February 8, 2019 On ANTI- Records, And North American Tour

Cass McCombs is a transient storyteller interested in words, music and dreams. His ninth full-length album, Tip of the Sphere, is due February 8, 2019 on ANTI- Records.

In conjunction with today’s album announcement, McCombs shares the album’s lead single, “Sleeping Volcanoes,” and announces a North American tour.

Tip of the Sphere follows 2016’s Mangy Love. For that record, McCombs made his television debut on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and was featured in The New York Times’ Sunday Arts & Leisure section. It was named a “Best Rock Album of the Year” by Pitchfork, featured in the Washington Post’s “Best Music of 2016,” plus many other best of 2016 lists, and was his overall most critically praised album.

While most of McCombs albums have been pieced together in different studios over an extended period of time, Tip of the Sphere was recorded quickly and with a strong sense of purpose at Shahzad Ismaily’s Figure 8 Studios in Brooklyn. This new approach for McCombs brought his songs a raw immediacy and a special balance of compassion and experimentation with the intent of making a more consistent statement. The rock songs have more fervor, the ballads are more beautiful, the explorations more confident; the sounds of jazz and Latin music creep in through the back window. Engineered by Sam Owens (aka Sam Evian), Tip of the Sphere features the core band of McCombs (guitar, vocals), Dan Horne (bass), Otto Hauser (drums) and Frank LoCrasto (piano, organ, and more), plus a range of guests.

Tip of the Sphere recounts what has unfolded in the wake of Mangy Love’s pre-inaugural prophetic themes. It presents an artist trying to make sense of it all through a relentless, ever searching creative process. Throughout Tip of the Sphere, McCombs floats through a suite of songs driven by a journeying mysticism and dark grace. The thematic centerpiece of the album, “Sleeping Volcanoes,” is a rousing, rock and roll number that uses a distinct lyrical approach to intensify the narrative. On the main refrain, a key phrase of the song is repeated continuously and taken through its possible meanings, almost like a jazz musician repeating a musical phrase through key and chord changes. As described by McCombs, “Sleeping Volcanoes” is about “people passing each other on the sidewalk unaware of the emotional volatility they are brushing past, like a sleeping volcano that could erupt at any moment.”

The ‘Castillo de la Esfera’ is featured inside the vinyl edition of Tip of the Sphere. ‘The ‘Castillo de la Esfera‘ was created by fellow Northern California artist and contemporary Tahiti Pehrson as an homage to Brion Gysin’s dream machine. When the ‘Castillo de la Esfera’ is placed on top of the record player, and as the record is played (with or without a lightbulb cantilevered in the center), thoughts are encouraged to wander.

Tip of the Sphere Tracklist:

1. I Followed The River South To What

2. The Great Pixley Train Robbery

3. Estrella

4. Absentee

5. Real Life

6. Sleeping Volcanoes

7. Sidewalk Bop After Suicide

8. Prayer For Another Day

9. American Canyon Sutra

10. Tying Up Loose Ends

11. Rounder

Pre-order Tip of the Sphere – https://ffm.to/cm_tipofthesphere

Cass McCombs Tour Dates:

Fri. Nov. 9 - Weissenhäuser Strand, DE @ Rolling Stone Weekender

Sat. Nov. 10 - Utrecht, NL @ Le Guess Who Festival

Sun. Nov. 11 - Utrecht, NL @ Le Guess Who Festival

Mon. Nov. 12 - London, UK @ Hoxton Hall – SOLD OUT

Wed. Nov. 14 - Leffinge, BE @ De Zwerver

Fri. Nov. 16 - Rust, DE @ Rolling Stone Park

Mon. March 4 - Washington, DC @ Union Stage

Tue. March 5 - Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live

Thu. March 7 - Brooklyn, NY @ Murrmr

Fri. March 8 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom

Sat. March 9 - Boston, MA @ The Sinclair

Fri. March 15 - Indianapolis, IN @ HiFi

Sat. March 16 - Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall

Mon. March 18 - St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club

Wed. March 20 - Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre

Sat. March 23 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The State Room

Tue. March 26 - Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey

Wed. March 27 - Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater

Sat. March 30 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre

Fri. April 5 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore

Browse by Artist

2102All Artists 100Tom Waits 74Mavis Staples 59Neko Case 51Lost In The Trees 50Sean Rowe 48Dr. Dog 45The Milk Carton Kids
41Jolie Holland 40Bettye LaVette 37Man Man 36Son Little 35Tinariwen 33DeVotchKa 33Tim Fite 31Islands 31Grinderman 29Glen Hansard 28Saintseneca 27Galactic 27Wilco 27Delicate Steve 26Andy Shauf 25The Drums 24Michael Franti and Spe... 24Xenia Rubinos 22William Elliott Whitmo... 22Doe Paoro 22Bob Mould 21The Frames 21Nick Cave & The Bad Se... 20Joe Henry 20Christopher Paul Stell... 19Yves Jarvis 19Cass McCombs 19Booker T. Jones 19Sage Francis 18Gary V 18Deafheaven 18Calexico 17Yann Tiersen 17John K. Samson 16Jason Lytle 16The Antlers 16Danny Elfman 16Ramblin Jack Elliott 14Daniel Lanois 14Madi Diaz 14Jeremy Ivey 13Half Waif 13The Dream Syndicate 13Billy Bragg 12Leyla McCalla 12Girlpool 12Combo Chimbita 12Xavier Rudd 12Peter Silberman 11Mose Allison 11Lyrics Born 11Rain Machine 11Ryan Pollie 11Japandroids 11Roky Erickson 11Purr 11The Weakerthans 11Glitterer 11Jade Jackson 10High Pulp 10The Swell Season 10Darrin Bradbury 10Moor Mother 10Christian Lee Hutson 10So Much Light 10The Melodic 10Alfa Mist 9Hey, King! 9Curtis Harding 9Marianne Faithfull 9Wynonna 9Josiah Johnson 9M. Ward 9Cameron Avery 9N.A.S.A. 9Lido Pimienta 8Katy Kirby 8Greg Graffin 8Kate Davis 8Slow Pulp 8The Coup 8Solillaquists of Sound 8Cadence Weapon 7Kelly Hogan 7Ben Harper 7Title Fight 7Dead Man's Bones 7Ben Harper and Charlie... 7Alec Ounsworth 7Richard Reed Parry 7Beth Orton 7Eddie Izzard 7Elliott Smith 6Broken Twin 6Rafiq Bhatia 6Busdriver 6Deradoorian 6A Girl Called Eddy 6MJ Lenderman 6Kate Bush 6Bonny Doon 6Os Mutantes 5Foxwarren 5Kristine Leschper 5One Day As A Lion 5Ezra Furman 5The Tallest Man On Ear... 5Scott McMicken and THE... 5Beat Connection 5James Brandon Lewis 5Jasmyn 5Keaton Henson 5Art Moore 5The Field 4Ersi Arvizu 4The Good Ones 4Sparklehorse 4Pops Staples 4Waxahatchee 4Marketa Irglova 4sunking 4Jackson+Sellers 3Walter Wolfman Washing... 3Plains 3Marc Ribot 3Mothers 3Danny Cohen 3Sam Akpro 3Petra Haden 3Sierra Leones Refugee... 3Mavis Staples & Levon... 2Fleet Foxes 2Various Artists: RANGO 2ANTI- Records 2Jeff Tweedy 1Various Artists: ROGUE... 1Rogue's Gallery 1Antibalas 1Simian Mobile Disco 1Porter Wagoner 1Blackalicious 1Lightman Jarvis Ecstat... 1Joe Strummer And The M... 1Solomon Burke 1Youth Group 1Merle Haggard 1case/lang/veirs 1The Locust 1Taylor Vick 1Tricky 1Kronos Quartet with Br...
See Full List+