As promised, Philly shoegaze outfit Nothing will return with their third studio effort later this summer. After sharing a fiery trailer last week, they've detailed the album in full: Dance on the Blacktop hits shelves August 24th via Relapse. Additionally, the band has revealed the album's moody opening track, "Zero Day." It arrives accompanied by a grim, quirky music video that finds frontman Dominic "Nicky" Palermo lying in a coffin, singing the song through stitched-up lips as he's carried along in a funeral procession. Be warned — there are clowns.
"'Zero Day' references a 'hole' a pirate places inside of software before it's released to its manufacturer," Palermo says of the track. "Ultimately, when installed, the software becomes completely vulnerable, and is then infiltrated and exploited. When you look at the human race and our insignificance on a universal scale you must then look directly at our creation, tendencies for devastation and inevitable expiration, and ponder how we could be anything more than an epidemic ourselves."
Arriving in the wake of 2016's Tired of Tomorrow, Dance on the Blacktop was produced by John Agnello (Kurt Vile, Dinosaur Jr.). It marks Nothing's first recording with new bassist Aaron Heard, also of area hardcore outfit Jesus Piece. Sessions for the LP took place in a cabin in upstate New York, as well as the producer's Philly recording studio. Scroll down to view the striking album artwork — a snapshot of model Chelsea Hodson — which Palermo co-designed alongside Mark McCoy (Youth Attack Records, Charles Bronson), as well as a track listing.
Nothing have also announced a North American tour in support of Dance on the Blacktop. The trek, which features support from Culture Abuse, Big Bite and Smut, kicks off at Washington, D.C.'s Black Cat on September 7th, with stop-offs scheduled through early October. Check out a full itinerary below.
Nothing - Dance on the Blacktop track listing:
01. "Zero Day"
02. "Bad Land"
03. "You Wind Me Up"
04. "Plastic Migraine"
05. "Us We Are"
06. "Hail On Palace Pier"
07. "I Hate the Flowers"
08. "The Carpenter's Son"
09. "HOPE Is Just Another Word With A Hole In It"
Nothing tour dates:
Sept. 07 — Washington, DC — Rock & Roll Hotel $
Sept. 08 — Cleveland, OH — Grog Shop $
Sept. 09 — Columbus, OH — Ace of Cups $
Sept. 11 — Detroit, MI — The Shelter $
Sept. 12 — Chicago, IL — Lincoln Hall $
Sept. 13 — Minneapolis, MN — 7th Street Entry #
Sept. 14 — Lawrence, KS — Record Bar #
Sept. 15 — Denver, CO — Bluebird Theater #
Sept. 18 — San Jose, CA — The Ritz #
Sept. 19 — San Francisco, CA — Great American Music Hall #
Sept. 20 — Los Angeles, CA — The Regent Theater #
Sept. 22 — San Diego, CA — Soda Bar #
Sept. 23 — Phoenix, AZ — The Rebel Lounge #
Sept. 25 — Dallas, TX — Club Dada ^
Sept. 26 — Austin, TX — Mohawk ^
Sept. 27 — Houston, TX — Secret Group ^
Sept. 29 — Atlanta, GA — Masquerade ^
Sept. 30 — Durham, NC — Motorco Music Hall ^
Oct. 05 — Brooklyn, NY — Warsaw ^
Oct. 06 — Philadelphia, PA — Union Transfer ^
Oct. 07 — Boston, MA — The Sinclair ^
$ w/ Culture Abuse, Smut
# w/ Culture Abuse, Big Bite, Smut
^ w/ The Swirlies, Big Bite, Smut
