Pitchfork

After a February in which an veritable pantsload of snow paralyzed the northeastern U.S., along comes Pitchfork to report on The Long Winters' upcoming sophomore album. Stating upfront that we find it curious, to say the very least, that the band has chosen to release the album in the Spring, of all seasons, we are optimistically looking forward to its arrival. (Spring, that is. Zang!)

Presently slated for a May street date, via the venerable Barsuk Records, When I Pretend To Fall will be the first Long Winters LP to feature a non-power-pop superstar line-up. As you'll recall, John Roderick (Mr. Long Winters hisself) was joined by members of Death Cab for Cutie, Big Star, Built to Spill and Fountains of Wayne for 2002's rookie release, The Worst You Can Do Is Harm.

As Pitchfork previously reported back in December-- when the Winter didn't yet feel quite so Long-- When I Pretend to Fall was produced by Chris Walla (Death Cab for Cutie) and Ken Stringfellow (Posies, Minus 5), and is the first recorded with the band's touring lineup: John Roderick and Michael Shilling (ex-Western State Hurricanes), Sean Nelson (ex-Harvey Danger), keyboardist Chris Caniglia, and bassist Eric Corson. Tracklist:

01 Blue Diamonds
02 Scared Straight
03Shapes
04 Cinnamon
05 Bride and Bridle
06 Blanket Hog
07 It'll Be a Breeze
08 Stupid
09 Prom Night at Hater High
10 New Girl
11 The Sound of Coming Down
12 Nora

Of course, what would a new album be without a mini-tour to promote it? So what if it's two months early and a handful of dates short of a mega-tour? And, while we're asking the questions here, should a band called The Long Winters really spend their March in Texas and Arizona? Well, they should if they're playing South by Southwest with Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter, The Prom, John Vanderslice, Nada Surf and Death Cab for Cutie (Whoops! Did we say we were gonna stop talking about that thing?):

03-13 Austin, TX - Mother Egan's (SXSW Festival - Barsuk Records Showcase)
03-18 El Paso, TX - Bridge Center For the Performing Arts
03-21 Phoenix, AZ - Modified