The Holy Knives have announced a spring North American tour, including their first ever Canadian live appearance, during this year's Canadian Music Week, May 7. The tour kicks off May 2 in the town the brothers Kyle & Kody Valentine were born, New Orleans, and runs through May 18 in Tulsa, in continued support of their debut full-length album, Year of the Black Dog. Currently based in San Antonio, Texas The Holy Knives recorded a live session at the historic Kreischer Mansion on Staten Island, NY while on tour last December - watch the videos for "SWITCHBLADE HEART" + "STRAY DOG".
Kyle & Kody wrote over 100 songs in the past year, selecting what they felt best captured where they are currently as musicians and people. As with Ritual Bloom, the guys worked with Latin Grammy-nominated producer Manuel Calderon (The Chamanas, Nina Diaz) who helped shape their desert dreamscapes. Calderon's band mate in The Chamanas, Paulina Reza, provides backing vocals on multiple tracks, providing a perfect foil to Kody's haunting baritone.
Listening to Year of the Black Dog is like wandering through a melancholy desert dream. It is a mood-driven album with a western heart. The atmosphere creates a surreal backdrop to Valentine's self-exploratory lyrics. When this album was being written, there was no thematic center for its ideas. Instead, it could be thought of as something more like a dream journal, a deep dive into themselves. For The Holy Knives, Year of the Black Dog is a collection of cathartic confessionals that serves as their first self-portrait.
Drawing musical inspiration from acts such as Timber Timbre, Arctic Monkeys, Beach House, and Portishead, The Holy Knives' could be imagined performing at the Bang Bang Bar from Twin Peaks or playing in a True Detectiveepisode. Their belief is that music is a sacred weapon you can use to ward off the march of reality.
Tour Dates:
05/02 - New Orleans, LA @ Poor Boys
05/03 - Nashville, TN @ The East Room
05/04 - Atlanta, GA @ Union EAV
05/07 - Toronto, ON @ The Garrison (12am, Canadian Music Week)
05/08 - Brooklyn, NY @ Alphaville
05/09 - Baltimore, MD @ Sidebar
05/10 - Philadelphia, PA @ Ortlieb's
05/11 - Washington, DC @ Songbyrd
05/12 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Spirit
05/13 - Detroit, MI @ PJ's Lager House
05/15 - Cleveland, OH @ Space Bar
05/16 - Chicago, IL @ Elbo Room
05/17 - Kansas City, MO @ Replay Lounge
05/18 - Tulsa, OK @ The Rabbit Hole
Videos