DAN MICHAELSON AND THE COASTGUARDS
UK SHOWS SEPTEMBER
THE SLAUGHTERED LAMB 15th SEPTEMBER 2014
NEW ALBUM ‘DISTANCE’ OUT NOW
“a miniature masterpiece… hugely recommended” 4/5 The Guardian
“stands proudly alongside the likes of Bill Callaghan and The National” 8/10 NME
“Melancholic Gold” 4/5 MOJO
“experts in sounding gracefully forlorn” 8/10 Uncut
“a magnificiently British, introverted take on Amricana” 4/5 The Times
“Majestic” 5/5 Mail on Sunday
“Michaelson makes mordant sorrow sound timeless and fresh”
4/5 Independent on Sunday
“the kind of thing you cling to in a storm: sturdy as an oak creaking with a certain humanity” PITCHFORK
“A staggeringly good record”Album of the Week, The Line of Best Fit
“Distance may well be his finest work yet… it really is something of a triumph” Rockfeedback
“Michaelson is a master of the bleak atmosphere” Q
Dan Michaelson and The Coastguards will perform a string of shows next month in support of their new album ‘Distance’. Released on 18th August to widespread critical acclaim, the album was written in Montauk, NY (the setting for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and is the follow-up to last year’s much-lauded ‘Blindspot’.
LIVE SHOWS
September
Progressing from the minimal atmosphere of his previous album, Dan Michaelson returns to a full-band sound. “I asked Ash to record and mix the album. He’d just finished the sessions for Metronomy’s ‘Love Letters’ and we’d been threatening to work together for ages. I had all the songs and phoned the greatest musicians I know and asked them if they would come play. They asked ‘can we hear the songs?’ I said ‘no’. They said ‘great, when do we start?” Joining Michaelson (vocal and guitar) in the studio were Magic Number Romeo Stodart (bass), Henry Spenner (drums), Laurie Earle (guitar and piano), Horse (guitar and pedal steel), Gabriel Stebbing (cello) and Johnny Flynn (violin).
The first single taken from the record is what Dan himself describes as ‘misleadingly upbeat’ ‘Burning Hearts’, the romantic tale of two lovers dancing their way towards the end of the world, out next week. The single has already been
Watch the video filmed on St.Leonard’s on Sea by Tareq Kubaisi.
WATCH ‘BURNING HEARTS’ VIDEO:
Michaelson’s musical career began in 2003 when he formed Absentee. The band’s debut album ‘Donkey Stock’ (2005) enjoyed widespread critical-acclaim with NME declaring, “better than any album released in ages” and giving it a 9/10 rating. Absentee’s follow-up ‘Schmotime’ came out a year later to similar fanfare. The third and final album ‘Victory Shorts’ signified an end to both the band and also silly album titles in general.
Michaelson’s debut solo album ‘Saltwater’ (2009), recorded with Valgeir Sigurdsson (Bjork/Bonnie Prince Billy), was well-received and featured in Rough Trade’s Albums of the Year. The follow-up ‘Shakes’ came out a year later and showcased a thirtysomething Englishman’s take on soul music. 2011’s ‘Sudden Fiction’ was a super stripped back record, inspired by the Texan desert town of Marfa. Oddly, the album became very popular with TV series about troubled teenagers, with songs featuring on shows like MTV’s Teenwolf and Channel 4’s Misfits. The record featured in both Mojo and Rough Trade’s Albums of the Year.
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