Saintseneca | photo by Nick Fancher | courtesy of the artist
Saintseneca release stirring single “Frostbiter”, have an album and tour on the way
Columbus, Ohio folk-punksters Saintseneca have announced a new album on ANTI- Records, Pillar of Na, along with their first headlining tour in 3 years. The follow-up to their grandiose 2015 opus Such Things, Pillar of Na sees the band once again pushing their music to the experimental edges of folk in search of new expressive possibilities. Singer and songwriter Zac Little says that in making the album he wanted “to reach way back, echoing ancient folk melodies, tie that into punk rock, and then push it into the future…I’m looking for the intersection between Kendrick Lamar and The Fairport Convention.”
This musical synthesis is evident on lead single “Frostbiter”. Little delivers contemplative lyrics over ambient synthscapes and a lo-fi drum/bass backbeat reminiscent of fellow Ohio legends Guided by Voices. An ethereal chorus vocal by bandmate Maryn Jones perfects the song’s atmosphere and serves as the dreamy counterpoint to the stark realism of the verse lyrics. “I think of this song as a big tree trunk in the woods where people carve their messages…” says Little, “A little space absorbing traces of its environment over time. Every mark corresponds to a different story. Some of them are mine. Some belong to others, yet feel all too familiar.”
Listen to “Frostbiter below. Pillar of Na will be available 8/31 on ANTI- Records. Saintseneca will tour this fall including a stop at PhilaMOCA on 9/7; more info can be found on the XPN Concert Calendar. Full tour dates are listed below.
Pillar of Na TRACKLIST
- Circle Hymn
- Feverer
- Beast in the Garden
- Ladder to the Sun
- Good Hand
- Moon Barks at the Dog
- Denarius
- Timshel
- Frostbiter
- Pillar of Na
TOUR DATES:
8/25 – Cincinnati, OH @ beWILDerfest
8/31 – Columbus, OH @ Wexner Center for the Arts
9/4 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Spirit Lodge
9/5 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
9/6 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
9/7 – Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA
9/8 – Richmond, VA @ The Camel
9/9 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat (Backstage)
9/11 – Durham, NC @ The Pinhook
9/12 – Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn
9/13 – Tampa, FL @ Crowbar
9/14 – Tallahassee, FL @ The Wilbury
9/15 – New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa
9/17 – Austin, TX @ Barracuda
9/18 – Ft. Worth, TX @ Main at South Side
9/19 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Opolis
9/20 – Lawrence, KS @ Bottleneck
9/21 – St. Louis @ Off-Broadway
9/22 – Davenport, IA @ Village Theatre
9/23 – Indianapolis, IN @ Hollar on the Hill Festival
9/24 – Lexington, KY @ The Burl
10/9 – Cleveland, OH @ Mahall’s
10/10 – Toronto, ONT @ Drake
10/11 – Ferndale, MI @ Loving Touch
10/12 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
10/14 – Madison, WI @ High Noon
10/15 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
10/18 – Boise, ID @ Funky Taco
10/19 – Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern
10/20 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
10/22 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
10/23 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
10/24 – San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
10/25 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar
10/27 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge