In October, experimental unit Subtle will revisit last year’s wondrously dynamic For Hero: For Fool with Yell & Ice. Similar to Prefuse 73 and his “remix EPs” that follow every album; Subtle reworks much of the material on For Hero with guests. (They used the same tactic for their 2004 album, A New White, with Wishingbone.)
“Both ‘wishingbone’ and ‘yell&ice’ were fashioned to further explore Subtle’s conceptual protagonist, Hour Hero yes, while creating a medium for the band’s love of collaborative music making,” wrote the band in a MySpace post. “Unlike a typical collection of remixes, ‘yell&ice’ utterly reapproaches the lyrics and music of ‘for hero: for fool.’ In order to better suit the pallette and prowess of each respective collaborator, poems were rewritten, sounds resampled, and time signatures unlocked. Then these songbones were sent to our collaborators/confidantes who then rewrote, sang, and sequenced to the tune of their talents.”
Guests on Yell & Ice, which comes out via Lex Records/EMI, include Tunde Adebimpe from TV on the Radio, Dan Boeckner from Wolf Parade, Markus Acher from the Notwist, and Chris Adams from Hood. Subtle continues to work on its next album for a 2008 release. Before then, they’ll play several shows this fall, including a string of dates with Seattle indie-rock band Minus the Bear.
Tour dates are below.
- 8/03: The Casbah, San Diego, CA
- 8/04: The Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA
- 8/06: Doug Fir Lounge, Portland, OR
- 8/07: Chop Suey, Seattle, WA
- 8/08: Richards on Richards, Vancouver, BC
- 8/09: Lucky Bar, Victoria, BC
- 8/11: Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA
- 9/23: Service Station, Spokane, WA
- 9/24: Badlanders, Missoula, MT
- 9/26: The Abbey, Chicago, IL
- 9/27: St. Andrew’s Hall, Detroit, MI
- 9/28: Grog Shop, cleveland OH
- 9/29: Diesel, Pittsburgh, PA
- 9/30: Tralf Music Hall, Buffalo, NY
- 10/01: Opera House, Toronto, ON
- 10/02: TBA, Montreal, QC
- 10/03: Middle East, Boston, MA
- 10/04: Middle East, Boston, MA
- 10/05: Warsaw, Brooklyn, NY
- 10/06: Irving Plaza, New York, NY
- 10/07: Starland Ballroom, Sayerville, NJ
- 10/08: Theatre of Living Arts, Philadelphia, PA
- 10/10: Black Cat, Washington, DC
- 10/12: Pilot Light, Knoxville, TN
- 10/13: Drunken Unicorn, Atlanta, GA
- 10/15: Emo’s, Austin, TX
- 10/17: Plush. Tucson, AZ
8/03-8/11: w/Thee More Shallows
9/23-10/10: w/Minus the Bear
www.subtle6.com
www.myspace.com/subtlesix
