Elf Power Announce 13-City U.S. Tour in Support Of 'Artificial Countrysides'

Athens, GA-based psychedelic folk band Elf Power announces a 13-city U.S. tour in support of their first new album in more than five years, Artificial Countrysides. Kicking off June 5 in Dallas, TX, the 11-city tour includes stops throughout the Southwest and West Coast with two shows opening for The No Ones and The Minus 5 in Portland and Seattle. A complete list of tour dates is below; tickets are now on sale here.

Directed and produced by Jeff Kuykendall and Jimmy Hughes, today the band shares the official video for "Filming the Sequel Before All the Actors Die."

"We're excited to be heading back out to the West Coast and to Norway this summer to play some shows and festivals, including a few shows with our friends and labelmates The Minus 5 and The No Ones!," says Andrew Rieger. "Also, we're excited to share our video for 'Filming the Sequel Before all the Actors Die', featuring many Easter eggs and references to our songs and albums from the last 30 years. See how many you can spot!"

Praised by Stereogum, Under The Radar and BrooklynVegan, who said "It finds their unique psychedelic pop/indie rock fusion sounding as great as ever," the band's 14th album in an almost 30-year career centers around the gray zones where the natural world collides with the creeping encroachment of the digital realm, where the balance between real and simulated can shift from one minute to the next. "That title also describes the songwriting process, of world-building or creating an artificial landscape within a song," explains Rieger.

With a blend of fuzz-tone electric and layered acoustic guitars, Moog keyboards and lively drums, singer and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Rieger and his Elf Power bandmates - Peter Alvanos (drums), Dave Wrathgabar (guitar), with contributions from Laura Carter (keyboards) - created some of the band's most expansive musical terrain yet.

Experimenting with the sounds of marimba, Mellotron, harpsichord, synth bass and distorted drum machine loops, it was a try-it-and-see approach in the studio. "I like the challenge of approaching it as a trial-and-error process, so we can spend more time and see what works and what doesn't," Rieger says. "We build the songs as we're coming up with them, instead of rehearsing it to death and then recording it. I've always felt like that makes for more interesting music for us."

Elf Power: On Tour

June 5 - Three Links - Dallas, TX
June 6 - Hotel Vegas - Austin, TX
June 9 - Thunderbird Lounge - Phoenix, AZ
June 11 - Whistle Stop Bar - San Diego, CA
June 12 - Gold Diggers - Los Angeles, CA
June 14 - Brick & Mortar Music Hall - San Francisco, CA
June 16 - Mississippi Studios - Portland, OR*
June 17 - Tractor Tavern - Seattle, WA*
June 18 - Three Magnets Brewing - Olympia, WA
June 19 - Neurolux - Boise, ID
June 21 - Lost Lake - Denver, CO
June 23 - City Winery STL - St. Louis, MO
June 25 - AthFest - Athens, GA
June 29-July 1 - Visefestival - Egersund, NO*
July 2 - Last Train - Oslo, NO*

*with The No Ones & The Minus 5

photo credit: Jason Thrasher