Chicago songwriter and guitarist James Elkington—who has collaborated with everyone from Richard Thompson to Jeff Tweedy to Tortoise—has announced his new album, Ever-Roving Eye, out April 3rd, alongside the video for lead single “Nowhere Time” and UK tour dates with Joan Shelley.
James Elkington’s sophomore album expands upon his celebrated 2017 debut Wintres Woma as well as his recent production and arrangement work for the likes of Steve Gunn, Nap Eyes, and Joan Shelley. Casting glances back to British folk traditions as well as toward avant-garde horizons, these brilliant new songs buttress Elkington’s brisk guitar figures and baritone poesy with strings, woodwinds, and backing vocals by Tamara Lindeman of the Weather Station.
Nap Eyes will release their new album Snapshot of a Beginner, their most concentrated and hi-fi effort to date (produced by Jonathan Low and James Elkington), on March 27th via Jagjaguwar / Royal Mountain, in partnership with PoB. This one’s for the procrastinators and the slow learners. This one’s for the bungled and the botched, for the fumbled and humbled. This one’s for the late bloomers. (Get 20% off the Naps catalog with coupon SNAPSHOT.)
This November, the inimitable James Elkington is jumping in the van with fellow guitar sorcerer J. Mascis for a run of dates on the west coast and beyond – just after wrapping up a string of shows supporting Jeff Tweedy in September. Don’t sleep!
Trouble in Mind and PoB, in cooperation with the venerable Chicago venue the Empty Bottle, are proud to present Trouble in Paradise, a three-day festival (Sept. 13-15) showcasing a simpatico sampling of both record labels’ critically acclaimed and wide-ranging international rosters. The lineup, which features an array of artists including The Weather Station, Gun Outfit, Nap Eyes, Itasca, James Elkington, JX Fussell & Nathan Bowles, among many others, explores the shared terrain between the respective realms of one label named for a classic blues song and another named for a Melville story.
Since the release of last year’s Wintres Woma, James Elkington has been touring consistently with the likes of The Weather Station, Joan Shelley, and The Sea and Cake, plus a headline tour of the EU, and the odd support slot for Jeff Tweedy or Wilco. Before playing select shows in July, including opening for The War On Drugs, the Chicago-based guitarist announces a fall tour supporting Jeff Tweedy, including dates with the venerable Jake Xerxes Fussell.
Following his tour supporting Jeff Tweedy in January, James Elkington returns to the UK an EU for a headline tour in April. Don’t miss this first-ever solo tour of the continent.
‘Tis the season to give records to beloved friends and family (and to yourself too.) In lieu of the madness of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we prefer to observe Krampus Day (honoring the Central European folkloric anti-Santa critter). Shop PoB through Dec. 15 and enter coupon code KRAMPUS during checkout for a 20% discount on all catalog items.
Watch the new video, shot at the Ontario Fall Fair and featuring musician Ian Daniel Kehoe, as premiered by Noisey, who write of the song: “Over atmospheric guitars and gorgeous strings that Lindeman self-arranged, its startlingly stunning arrangement matches the lyrical heft.” Fresh from a sold-out show in London, the band is also announcing a string of new UK tour dates in early 2018.
Watch the beautiful new video from The Weather Station, which SPIN calls “an inspired continuation of a rich tradition of intensely-disciplined, self-interrogative pop songwriting. The taut arrangements on The Weather Station, adorned here with aerial surges of strings, create The Weather Station’s own specific music universe, at turns claustrophobic or extending all the way towards a distant horizon.”
