Pitchfork

Those delightfully morbid Unicorns are set to release a new seven-inch split with the elusive and often disturbing noise-rock entity Man Is The Bastard. It's presently set to be issued via the obscure New Jersey-based imprint Kitty Play-- not that it has a release date just yet. But it may get one! And that's sort of what we're getting at. In a way, it makes sense that The Unicorns could work with Man Is the Bastard on a project such as this-- after all, they've both done time on the Alien8 label roster. But why wouldn't it come out on Alien8? We don't know, and we're not going to pretend to. But that's weird, right?

We'll chalk it up to being just another bullet in somebody's future outline of The Unicorns' eccentric antics. As of late, The Unicorns have reported an endeavor that has the group's members conducting weekly steel-cage wrestling matches in Montreal. This is not to mention the announcement that they intend to unite as a hip-hop production crew (under the questionable moniker Th' Corn Gangg), their plans to release three 3-inch discs featuring solo material from each member of the group, or their recent reports that Unicorn Nick Jaime was thrown out of a Vice Magazine party for breaking a $10,000 lamp. What is the explanation for these events/stories? Do they have any basis in reality whatsoever? Are they just cruel manipulations of the press? What kind of lamp costs $10,000? The answers, like real unicorns, remain a mystery.

What doesn't is that, come December, the trio will be embarking on a six-date Australian tour, which is pretty ambitious for a North American band around those parts. For perspective, even R.E.M. have only got five listed. Of course, The Unicorns don't have quite the pull it takes to fill the prestigious Rod Laver Arena. But "The Old Ballroom"? Certainly. Dates:

12-11 Meredith, Australia - Meredith Music Festival
12-12 Adelaide, Australia - Seas Gallery
12-15 Brisbane, Australia - The Rev
12-16 Sydney, Australia - Spectrum
12-17 Sydney, Australia - Frequency Lab
12-18 Melbourne, Australia - The Old Ballroom