Califone To Release New Album in October, Multimedia Tour to Follow

Califone, the four-piece experimental, roots folk band out of Chicago, are set to release their sixth album All My Friends are Funeral Singers later this fall on Dead Oceans. Hitting stores on October 6th, the new album will be the band's first for Dead Oceans and will serve as the follow-up to their fantastic 2006 release Roots and Crowns (which featured the stunning cover of Psychic TV's "The Orchids" included below).

A fan since discovering the band's 2004 release Heron King Blues (which contains another personal favorite, "Wingbone", also included below), Califone has somehow managed to remain woefully under the radar despite the heaps of much-deserved praise from a whole host of music sites and bloggers. Maybe it's because the band doesn't sell itself on writing one of those "here today, gone tomorrow" indie pop hits, and opts instead to craft thematic, intelligent albums that demand to be listened to as opposed to consumed in one moment and tossed aside the next.

Califone will be hitting the road following the release of All My Friends are Funeral Singers and the tour will not only serve to support the new album, but will also incorporate a cinematic element courtesy of frontman and principal songwriter Tim Rutili. Rutili has recently put the finishing touches on his first feature-length film (which he wrote and directed) and on a select number dates, Califone will be performing a live score to the film as part of the concert experience [complete list of tour dates, including those that will include the live film score, after the break].

The Rutili-directed movie, also titled All My Friends are Funeral Singers, is a companion piece of sorts to the forthcoming album and according to a recent press release: "The screenplay for the film draws on the same themes and inspirations as the album, and many of the songs were written at the same time and contain the same images and characters". [watch the just released trailer for the film below]


MP3: Califone--The Orchids *
MP3: Califone--Wingbone *
------------Purchase: Califone--Roots and Crowns

*both MP3s via the Califone fan site pastrysharp

Califone Announced 2009 Fall Tour Dates10/10--Chicago, IL - Museum of Contemporary Art **10/11--Chicago, IL - Museum of Contemporary Art **10/13--Pittsburgh, PA - Andy Warhol Museum **10/14--Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom **10/15--Buffalo, NY - Mohawk Place10/16-Ithaca, NY - Cornell Cinema **10/17--Montreal, Quebec - Ukrainian Federation **10/20--Northhampton, MA - Iron Horse Music Hall **10/21--Portland, ME - Space w/ Film performance10/22--Cambridge, MA - Brattle Theater **10/23--New York, NY - 92Y Tribeca **10/24--Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Live10/25--Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel10/26--Charlottesville, VA - The Southern **10/27--Atlanta, GA - The Earl10/28--Birmingham, AL - WorkPlay Theatre **10/30--Bloomington, IN - Bear's Place ****--w/ Film Performance