US / THEM: Ten Kens stream full album early via Exclaim!, ex-Fat Cat Recs vets third album out next week

Click image above to watch video

"Excellently skewed, arty rock, like Sonic Youth and Liars colliding." -- NME

Toronto based ethereal artrock group Ten Kens stream their entire forthcoming album a week early starting today via massive Canadian entertainment publication Exclaim! Listen to the full International edition of the band's third album, Namesake streaming HERE.

Ten Kens recently premiered a new video from Namesame. The clip for the song "Gently Used" is presented by Tiny Mix Tapes. Watch video HERE. Another video, "When A Door Opens" also recently premiered via Consequence of Sound. Watch video HERE. The song is also available to stream/download HERE.

Two years after their acclaimed sophomore album, Ten Kens return with their most powerful and poignant record to date. The aptly titled Namesake moves the band away from their signature genre-bending dither, into a darkened psychedelic voyage of self-discovery. The 2013 International physical release of Namesake is an expanded special edition from an earlier digital-only album. This special edition includes 4 previously unreleased tracks recorded during the Namesake sessions and makes the album's first physical release.

The product of this vision is the result of an intense yearlong recording period. Masterfully engineered and produced by Ten Kens' own Brett Paulin and Dan Workman, the band utilized several different recording facilities to find the perfect balance of studio wizardry and natural resonance. A purified approach to songwriting enabled the band to design a sound specific to each individual story, and as is their custom, the band disappeared into complete isolation to keep their vision focused and devoid of any outside influence. It is this insidious exploration of sound, coupled with unremitting power, that makes Namesake such an immense and profound listen. At its core, it is the thinking man's heavy rock - an abstract art-piece constructed from the remains of decaying genres. Without delusion and with grounded ambition, Ten Kens present an epic auditory narrative of life, death, and all the sounds in-between.

Ten Kens is the brainchild of songwriting duo Brett Paulin and Dan Workman. Discovered by Fat Cat Records in 2006, Ten Kens became one of the first Canadian acts signed to the famed UK label. In 2013, after two celebrated releases on both Fat Cat and Last Gang Records, and several successful tours in-between, Ten Kens carry on their mission as the ever-evolving, genre-altering, sound and vision no-scene music collective.

Having built up a reputation as a fearsome live act, and having shared stages with such bands as A Place To Bury Strangers, No Age, Deerhoof, The Joy Formidable and Surfer Blood, Ten Kens are set to widen their remit for 2013 with US and European tours currently in the planning stages. Ten Kens' Namesake special edition will be available May 21st, 2013.