JEFF THE BROTHERHOOD: NEW SONG, NEW ALBUM, NEW RECORD LABEL

My first introduction to Nashville’s Jeff The Brotherhood came at the Mercury Lounge a couple of years back when the venue sound guy was playing an album of theirs between bands. The churning grooves, stoney mentality and catchy melodies reminded me of early QOTSA and grabbed my attention, so much so that I actually went up to the sound guy and asked him what was playing. When I went home I looked them up, listened to a few tracks, and then later got 2011’s We Are the Champions when it came out, and although I liked it, it didn’t give me that same feeling of excitement I got that night at the Merc; maybe I didn’t have the right combination of booze and weed in my system.

Now big things are afoot for Jeff the Brotherhood; they’ve gone and signed with Warner Bros. Records!

I never would’ve guessed that the same label that bands like Lincoln Park, Green Day, Disturbed and innumerable pop acts call home would sign a left-of-center act like Jeff the Brotherhood, but Warner has Mastodon too, so there’s that. Naturally, new label means new album (Hypnotic Nights, due July 17) and new album means new single (“Six Pack,” streamable below via Jeff the Brotherhood’s blog):

Catchy enough, right? This particular track lacks the fast groove and bite of some of their earlier stuff, but it’s actually pretty consistent with what JTB are all about. I’m curious to hear what Hypnotic Nights will sound like; if there’s one thing JTB lacked on their past albums it was a producer to bring all the parts together and reign in the songwriting, so we’ll see what Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys) can do.

Here’s where it gets slightly confusing: May 22 will see the release of the similarly-titled Hypnotic Knights EP, which will feature four tracks from the Hypnotic Nights full-length album. So we’ve got that to look forward to in the meantime.

Tour dates:

Headline:
05/14 Norman, OK Opolis
05/15 Lubbock, TX Jake’s
05/17 Phoenix, AZ The Rhythm Room

With Best Coast:
05/18 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern
05/19 Oakland, CA Fox Theater
05/21 Portland, OR The Aladdin Theater
05//22 Seattle, WA Neptune
05/23 Boise, ID Neurolux (Headlining show)
05/24 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court Gallery
05/25 Aspen, CO Belly Up Aspen
05/26 Boulder, CO Fox Theatre
05/27 Lawrence, KS Granada Theater
05/29 Omaha, NE Slowdown
05/30 St. Louis, MO The Firebird
06/01 Dallas, TX Granada Theatre
06/02 Houston, TX Free Press Summer Fest

Headlining Dates:
06/13 Raleigh, NC Berkeley Café
06/14 Richmond, VA Strange Matter
06/15 Washington, DC Red Palace
06/16 Philadelphia, PA First Unitarian
06/17 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
06/18 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell’s
06/20 New Haven, CT Café Nine
06/21 Boston, MA TT The Bears
06/22 Montreal, QC Il Motore
06/23 Toronto, ON Wrong Bar
06/24 Detroit, MI Small’s
06/25 Indianapolis, IN Radio Radio
07/13 Louisville, KY Forecastle Festival
07/27 Rock Land, IL Rock Island Brewing Co.
07/28 Somerset, WI SoundTown Festival
07/29 Des Moines, IA Vaudeville Mews
08/01 Columbus, OH The Basement
08/02 Cleveland, OH Grog Shop
08/05 Chicago, IL Lollapalooza

-VN