Montreal-based band Braids announce their new album, Shadow Offering, for release on April 24th 2020 via Secret City Records.

Produced by Chris Walla from Death Cab For Cutie, the new record finds the band at their most personal, unabashedly flexing a new sense of confidence through songs that reach a higher level

of artistry and collaboration.

This week they share the lead single and video, "Young Buck," an effervescent ode to impossible love that exudes an undeniable magnetism.

 

"We wrote this song to capture the nervous anticipation of desire, the delicate chase of seduction, the highs and lows of obsession, and the humour in between," stated singer Raphaelle Standell-Preston.

"To want to possess someone, make them desire you, fall for you, only to learn that to lust is not to love."

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The band today also announce an extensive UK and European tour this April and May, including a London show at Moth Club on album release day (24th April) as well as an appearance at

The Great Escape in Brighton. North American dates will be announced shortly.  

 

Braids began teasing their new album last autumn with the release of "Eclipse (Ashley)", a song dedicated to Standell-Preston's best friend that sinks deep into a feeling of reverie for nature, the love found in friendship, and the vital essence of personal reflection.

It was praised by Pitchfork, Stereogum, DIY, Paste, Clash and The New York Times who stated "Raphaelle Standell-Preston sings with openhearted earnestness."

 

A luscious and expansive release, Shadow Offering leads us through a sonic tapestry of narrative. With heartbreaking honesty and precision, listeners traverse a nuanced and complicated world: one full of beautiful contradiction.

Although the album directs itself at the failures of people to love and be loved, it also seeks to restore justice and attain blissful union. Its arc crests through the dark towards the light and

learns how to dance with the dizzying rhythms of the heart.

The songs bubble, sustain, dissolve, expand and retract.

 

The album recounts pain, heartbreak, anger, but also lifts the heart towards hope.

"There's more hopefulness in this record than anything else I've written," said Standell-Preston.

"I think the songs are more human, more tangible, more honest."

Braids is comprised of Standell-Preston, Austin Tufts and Taylor Smith. Formed in 2007 in Alberta, they have solidified a decade-long reputation for their musical ingenuity and have established themselves as one of Canada's most acclaimed bands, garnering two Polaris Prize shortlists and winning the 2016 Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year.

With Standell-Preston's vocals as the pillar of their sound, Braids weave organic and electronic elements together amidst a lyrical landscape that is intimate, explosive and emotionally-immersive. They have supported or toured with artists such as Toro Y Moi, The Antlers, Wye Oak, Purity Ring and Friendly Fires along with festival appearances around the world including Glastonbury, Primavera, Osheaga, Hopscotch, and SXSW.

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LIVE DATES

 

April 22, 2020 - Leicester, UK - The Cookie

April 23, 2020 - Guildford, UK - Boileroom

April 24, 2020 - London, UK - Moth Club

April 25, 2020 - Ramsgate, UK - Music Hall

April 27, 2020 - Manchester, UK - YES Pink Room

April 28, 2020 - Liverpool, UK - Phase One

April 29, 2020 - Glasgow, UK - CAA

May 1, 2020 - Leeds, UK - Headrow House

May 2, 2020 - Cardiff, UK - Clwb for Bach

May 3, 2020 - Bristol, UK - The Exchange

May 4, 2020 - Cambridge, UK - Portland Arms

May 6, 2020 - Brussels, BE - Beursschouwburg

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B I Z Z A R R E

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