"Acquaintances manage to convincingly be everything at once without ever breaking the flow of a solid rock album." -- Rolling Stone
"Spiky, rolling indie rock in a vintage Pavement or Sebadoh mold." -- SPIN
"Mixes arty ’90s post-hardcore with a hypnotic krautrock backbone. It’s cool stuff." -- Brooklyn Vegan
"A hard-charging second album that explores mortality and an increasingly uncertain future. 'Flooded Candle Flickering Flame' isn't just a walk through the outfit's underground pedigree but manages to break new ground amid Who-ish thrums and Jesus Lizard-esque aggression." -- PopMatters
Chicago post-punk supergroup Acquaintances are streaming their forthcoming sophomore album today ahead of release via Echoes & Dust. Hear and share the mortality-themed full length 8 1/2 Lives HERE. (Direct Bandcamp.)
The band plays its first-ever live shows this June. Please see dates below.
Brooklyn Vegan recently shared "And It All Went Black" HERE. Treble premiered two album tracks, each sung/written by the band's two singers/songwriters, explaining, "they show the full range of the band’s songwriting and aesthetic sensibilities, from kickass rock ‘n’ roll to more nuanced arrangements," HERE. PopMatters also launched the driving rocker "Flooded Candle Flickering Flame" HERE.
Acquaintances are finally back with their second album, 8 ½ Lives, and right in time for File 13 Records' 30th anniversary as the label's 95th release.
Jered Gummere - Guitar, Vocals (The Ponys, Bare Mutants, Richard Vain)
Justin Sinkovich - Guitar, Vocals (The Poison Arrows, Atombombpocketknife, Thumbnail)
Patrick Morris - Bass (Don Caballero, The Poison Arrows)
Chris Wilson - Drums (Ted Leo + Pharmacists, Titus Andronicus, Hammered Hulls, Open City)
Also With:
Stephen Schmidt - Guitar (Thumbnail, Chino Horde)
Adam Reach - Percussion, Keyboard (The Poison Arrows, Pink Avalanche)
Recorded in a practice space and a basement by Justin Sinkovich, then mastered by John Golden, this second album builds on the fluidity of five dudes who don't necessarily occupy the same space all that often, and have made a lot of records you may have heard. They pieced their schedules and ideas together via Chicago, Philadelphia, and Portland, and made a pretty sick sounding noise rock record over the course of a year with lot of travel and shipping recording gear back and forth.
Acquaintances was originally formed in 2012 with Chris Wilson passing through on tour, and meeting up with longtime friend Justin Sinkovich in Chicago. They agreed to start a band despite Chris living in Philly. They recruited local Chicagoans Jered Gummere and Steve Schmidt to write songs, sing, and play guitar along with Justin doing the same. Three guys writing weird songs with Chris on drums... so yeah, they naturally recruited Patrick Morris who plays with Justin in The Poison Arrows, to play bass with Acquaintances as well.The first self-titled album was recorded by Justin in his basement, and was released in 2013. It was featured in Rolling Stone, Spin and other notable publications, but things came up in life, and they never played a show. BTW, the band name came while recording that first record, labeling files of songs in progress as "Acquaintances Track 01 No Vocals" etc. to share online while they were all over the place constructing the album.
Last year Justin and Jered wrote twelve songs and recorded them with Chris and Patrick for this new album. Steve had moved to Portland at this point, so they shipped recording gear out to him and he put his distinctive guitar sound on a majority of the album. This time around, Adam Reach from The Poison Arrows filled in on drums for some rehearsal and writing sessions, and played some percussion and keyboards here and there on the record.
8 ½ Lives lives up to its title by exploring mortality, and where to go from here amidst increasingly complex existences. Acquaintances are confirming shows this time around, to figure it out face-to-face with each other, and with you.
8 ½ Lives will be available on LP and download on May 31st via File-13 Records. Pre-orders are available HERE. The album will also be released on cassette via Coup Sur Coup.
ACQUAINTANCES LIVE 2019:
06/06 Bloomington IL @ Nightshop
06/08 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
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Artist: Acquaintances
Album: 8 1/2 Lives
Label: File 13 Records
Release Date: May 31st, 2019
01) And It All Went Black
02) Flooded Candle Flickering Flame
03) A Night in a Town
04) Mutual Denial
05) I'm an Artisan Goddamnit
06) Barmuda Triangle
07) This Moment Was Due
08) 8 ½ Lives
09) Dissolve Today
10) Mistakes
11) The Last Page
12) A Few Seconds Ahead of Your Ghost
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