Sam Cohen releases "Man On Fire" from his eagerly anticipated album The Future Is Still Ringing In My Ears (30th Century) due May 17. Co-produced by Cohen with producer-artist Danger Mouse, The Future's Still Ringing In My Ears was heralded last month by the Stereogum premiere of "Something's Got A Hold On Me," as well as "I Can't Lose" on Consequence of Sound.
LISTEN TO "MAN ON FIRE"
Cohen will celebrate The Future's Still Ringing In My Ears with a North American tour supporting his friend and longtime collaborator Kevin Morby. Dates begin May 8 at The Theatre at Ace Hotel in Los Angeles, CA and then continue through a two-night-stand at Chicago, IL's Thalia Hall on June 7 and 8.
SAM COHEN ON TOUR 2019
ALL DATES w/ KEVIN MORBY
MAY
8 - The Theatre at Ace Hotel - Los Angeles, CA
10 - The Catalyst - Santa Cruz, CA
11 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA
13 - Crystal Ballroom - Portland, OR
14 - The Showbox - Seattle, WA
15 - Imperial Vancouver - Vancouver, BC
17 - The State Room - Salt Lake City, UT
18 - The Bluebird Theater - Denver, CO
31 - Town Hall - New York, NY
JUNE
1 - 9:30 Club - Washington, DC
2 - Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA
3 - The Sinclair - Cambridge, MA
5 - The Opera House - Toronto, ON
6 - The Ark - Ann Arbor, MI
7 - Thalia Hall - Chicago, IL
8 - Thalia Hall - Chicago, IL
Known both as founding member of Apollo Sunshine and Yellowbirds as well as for his distinctive work producing such artists as Morby, Benjamin Booker and Rhett Miller, Sam Cohen has long been hailed for his otherworldly brand of naturalistic psychedelia, rich with enchanting songcraft, blissed-out soul grooves, and visionary guitar work. The Future's Still Ringing In My Ears proves to be his most magical effort thus far, equally blessed by melody, melancholy, and depth. Predominantly the work of one man toiling away alone in his studio but sounding like a cast of many, songs like the album's stately opener, "I Can't Lose" - featuring a bass-and-drums loop created with The Strokes' Fabrizio Moretti - see Cohen taking stock of a maddening present and a potentially dark future with one-of-a-kind heart, warmth, and wit.
The Future's Still Ringing In My Ears was born out of a production session where Cohen was to collaborate with Danger Mouse on another artist's material. When the session fell through, Danger Mouse - a.k.a. Brian Burton - suggested they spend the studio time on some of Cohen's own material. Though Cohen had not written any songs since his acclaimed 2015 solo debut, Cool It, the sessions prompted him to begin putting pen to paper once again.
"Brian really helped me get motivated to make this record," says Cohen. "His support pushed me to get started, and to value myself as an artist. It came at a time when I needed to hear that from someone."
Recording at his own Brooklyn studio gave Cohen the luxury to record in haste and sculpt at leisure, imbuing songs like "Man On Fire" with exploratory synthesizers and truly transcendent guitars. Its slow gestation gave The Future's Still Ringing In My Ears even greater depth and power, its extraordinary melding of the handmade and homespun etched with artful exactitude and uncompromising vision.
"The only way to go on is to laugh at it a little, because the weight of it and the profundity of the problems can destroy you. What I want for this music is to connect with people struggling with these same thoughts and feelings. I want people to hear this and say, yes, this is all really heavy, and I also feel helpless, and we don't have any good answers...but we have each other. And this music sounds really good! It's all I can offer."
