A Beacon School Shares New Single 'Mantra' Ahead Of New LP 'yoyo' Out This Friday

A Beacon School has shared a new single / video, "Mantra," ahead of his new LP, yoyo, out Oct. 13 on the Grind Select label. A Beacon School has also announced their album release show for yoyo, on Thurs. Oct. 26 at Elsewhere (Zone One) - tickets are on sale now.  

Here's what Smith said about "Mantra":

"Mantra is the last song on the album, and it states plainly everything I've been trying to get across on the rest of the album (and probably in every song I've ever written). The main phrase that repeats through the song was something I just blurted out for the demo and planned to eventually change. I was embarrassed at how blunt the words are, but thankfully (ABS bass player) Chase convinced me to keep them the way they are. We agreed there's power in stating what you feel directly, in this case: “Everything I don't want to change is changing, Everyone I don't want to leave is leaving, Everything I want to change is staying the same, Everyone that I want to stay is leaving” 

The official follow-up to his beloved debut Cola, Smith takes his sound even further with 10 tracks that are an untainted exploration of the unconscious artistic self and the oscillation of time. 

Smith began making music as A Beacon School in 2009. A home-recorded demo single was released in 2011, and a self-titled EP by a full-band lineup appeared near the end of 2012. Smith notably played with bands such as Modern Rivals and Bluffing, and currently works with Parquet Courts' Max Savage as part of Maxband. 

In 2018, A Beacon School's Cola was released by Grind Select. Alternating between uptempo, jangly pop nuggets, lush shoegaze and intricately-arranged electronic soundscapes, it quickly found an audience and became a staple on KCRW's flagship program, Morning Becomes Eclectic.  

After receiving positive press and slowly gaining a worldwide following, an expanded vinyl edition of Cola was released in 2019 in conjunction with Fat Possum's House Arrest imprint, amassing over 50 million streams, tours with El Ten Eleven and Ruby Haunt and syncs on critically acclaimed shows such as Hacks and Shrinking.

TOUR DATES

10/26 Brooklyn, NY - Elsewhere (Zone One) - Album Release Show 

photo by Dave Scholten