The Drums Release "Abysmal Thoughts"
Today The Drums make a triumphant return with "Abysmal Thoughts," the band’s fourth studio album, their Anti- debut and their first new music in over three years.
A true return to form, "Abysmal Thoughts" was born out of heartbreak and is an unflinching autobiography with frontman Jonny Pierce back in full control of the band. Pierce's masterful pop sensibility shines through on this quintessential Drums album, and it's some of the most revelatory work he's ever done.
Purchase or stream "Abysmal Thoughts" HERE or HERE via Spotify.
The Drums will take "Abysmal Thoughts" on the road this Summer, with new tour dates on sale today. See below to find a show near you, and get your tickets HERE.
To celebrate the release of his new album, Jonny Pierce will hold a Facebook Live Q&A today at 11:00 AM PT / 2:00 PM ET. Tune in then for the "Abysmal Q&A" HERE.
Across a year and three months of home recording between Los Angeles and his cabin in upstate New York - with the same guitar, synthesizer, drum machine and reverb unit he's played since the beginning of The Drums - Pierce put together "Abysmal Thoughts."With help from engineer Jonathan Schenke (Parquet Courts, Mannequin Pussy and more), Pierce is realizing his own personal vision for the Drums on this record. He's back to not just writing all the songs by himself but playing every instrument, too. It is a vivid self-portrait, alive with the hyperdramatic emotional potency of the Smiths, the arch literary pop moves of New Zealanders like the Verlaines and the Clean, and the riotous clatter-punk power of the UK DIY bands of 1979.
As the last album cycle for The Drums finished and his long-term relationship with his former partner dissolved, Pierce took some time away from music altogether in hopes to reconnect with himself and find future inspiration. Determined to make a change, he ended up leaving his longtime home in New York and found himself isolated in a large empty apartment in Los Angeles, all his plans for life and love suddenly in shambles. That hardship and confusion - and the clarity of personality and purpose it inspired - became "Abysmal Thoughts."
With The Drums' new record, band founder Jonny Pierce is making the exact album he's always held in his heart. Of course, this is The Drums, so that heart is broken - but there's beauty and even bliss in this kind of heartbreak. "I said I wanted to let life happen?" he says. "Well, the universe listened and life began to fuck me real good! But honestly, I make the worst art when I'm comfortable. The stuff that resonates with me the longest - and that resonates with others - is always the stuff that comes out of my misery."
Now the highs are higher than ever, and the lows absolutely bottomless. The Drums are back, and while there's a heavy sadness here, Pierce is stronger for fighting through it. "Happiness can be confusing to me," says Pierce. "It shows up out of nowhere, and before you can even get used to it, it's vanished. But "Abysmal Thoughts?" I can rely on them - and with the political chaos that is raining down, who knows when these dark feelings will subside?"
Tour dates - (New North American dates in BOLD)
July 17th: Neumos - Seattle, WA @*
July 18th: Venue - Vancouver, BC @*
July 19th: Wonder Ballroom - Portland, OR @*
July 21st: The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA @*
July 22nd: FYF Festival - Los Angeles, CA
July 30th: Wayhome Music and Arts Festival - Oro-Medonte, ON
July 31st: El Club - Detroit, MI #
August 1st: Bell's - Kalamazoo, MI #
August 2nd: Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL @
August 3rd: Lollapalooza - Chicago, IL
August 4th: The Grog Shop - Cleveland, OH #
August 5th: Hifi - Indianapolis, IN #
September 10th: Lucerna Music Bar - Prague, Czech Republic
September 12th: YotaSpace - Moscow, Russia
September 14th: Teatro Barcelo - Madrid, Spain
September 15th: Razmatazz - Barcelona, Spain
September 16th: Donostia Kutxa Kultur Festibala - San Sebastian, Spain
September 18th: Latteria Molloy - Brescia, Italy
September 19th: Les Docks - Lausanne, Switzerland
September 20th: La Gaite Lyrique - Paris, France
September 21st-23rd: Reeperbahn Festival - Hamburg, Germany
September 24th: Pumperhuset - Copenhagen, Denmark
September 25th: Parkteateret - Oslo, Norway
September 26th: Kraken - Stockholm, Sweden
September 28th: Lido - Berlin, Germany
September 29th: Orangerie - Brussels, Belgium
September 30th: Paradiso Noord - Amsterdam, Holland
October 2nd: Thekla - Bristol, UK
October 3rd: Whelans - Dublin, Ireland
October 4th: Gorilla - Manchester, UK
October 5th: Art School - Glasgow, UK
October 7th: o2 Shepherds Bush Empire - London, UK
November 6th: Bluebird Theater – Denver, CO &
November 7th: The Waiting Room – Omaha, NE &
November 8th: The Ready Room – St. Louis, MO &
November 10th: Skully's - Columbus, OH &
November 11th: The Mod Club -Toronto, CAN &
November 13th: Theatre Fairmount - Montreal, CAN &
November 14th: The Sinclair - Cambridge, MA &
November 15th: Brooklyn Steel - Brooklyn, NY &
November 16th: Black Cat - Washington, DC &
November 19th: Corona Capital - Mexico City, Mexico
November 28th: Exit/In - Nashville, TN %
November 29th: Terminal West - Atlanta, GA
November 30th: The Social - Orlando, FL %
December 1st: Gramps - Miami, FL %
December 2nd: Crowbar - Tampa, FL %
December 4th: Club Downunder - Tallahassee, FL %
December 5th: One Eyed Jacks - New Orleans, LA %
December 6th: White Oak Music Hall (Downstairs) - Houston, TX %
December 8th: Trees - Dallas, TX %
December 9th: Emo's - Austin, TX %
December 10th: Tricky Falls - El Paso, TX %
December 11th: Meow Wolf - Santa Fe, NM %
December 13th: The Van Buren - Phoenix, AZ %
December 14th: Brooklyn Bowl - Las Vegas, NV %
@ with Stef Chura
& with Methyl Ethel
% with Hoops
* with Soccer Mommy
# with Ne-Hi
Praise for “Abysmal Thoughts”:
"This is the Drums you know, and indeed, you'll feel compelled to answer back that you love them too." - Pitchfork
"The Drums hit harder than ever on 4th album "Abysmal Thoughts"" - The AV Club (A-)
"It's whole and complex and captivating, a treasure chest of an album in which you'll find something different and unique hiding within each listen." - Paste (8.1/10)
"'Blood Under My Belt' swings back to the band's halcyon-sounding days, recalling the likes of the Beach Fossils and Wild Nothing via its rippling bounce and rotational hooks." - Stereogum
"Indie pop gems" - SPIN
"Absolutely irresistible" - Billboard
""Abysmal Thoughts" is an album that finds Pierce finally facing and conquering his demons. He's managed to make the album he's always wanted to make, and on his own terms." - Noisey
"'Blood Under My Belt' is a return to form for The Drums...Clearly, Pierce is still very capable of creating the bouncy, romantic indie pop that made people fall in love with the band in the first place." - Buzzfeed
""Abysmal Thoughts" sounds fresh and energized." - Brooklyn Vegan
"Spirited and summery, it's yet another example of how Pierce has mastered the art of making devastation sound anything but depressing." - Consequence of Sound
"Super danceable" - KEXP
"The Drums frontman is in total control, and the band's latest...reflects his newfound freedom." - OUT