Pitchfork

Wilderness, one of the newer additions to Jagjaguwar's roster, as well as a recent Pitchfork Best New Music pick, have given us some possibly exclusive and definitely abstract details about their plans to enter the studio this fall to record the follow-up to their eponymous debut. The Baltimore-based band is scheduled to go back to Silver Sonya in Arlington, Va. to record this October, and guitarist Colin McCann had this to say about it: "The hope with the new songs is that each one is alive, burning in its own way, though somehow remaining part of the one, true song..." (Cue swelling strings, panoramic tracking shot of sunrise over mountaintops.) As to how the sound may differ from their current release, McCann noted, "The music has grown and mutated quite a bit since we made the first record. The songs cover a greater scope of the sonic spectrum...at times ecstatic, shooting icicles...other times mining the depths, the sounds ricocheting off the darkness...they are thankful songs..." Shooting icicles? Ouch.

What, you want specifics like a tracklisting, guest rappers, production notes and an equipment list? Slow down, cowgirl, it's only August. But McCann did have one more thing to say regarding the record: "Our hope is to follow the music, to allow the songs themselves to be the guide. To let the music determine the direction of the record. There are few preconceived notions of what it will sound like." In other words, he has no idea what the fuck is going on.

You may be able to catch Wilderness on tour this coming fall and winter, at least if you live in the Northeast, Southeast, or Midwest... but "mostly on weekends", according to singer James Johnson (hey, they have jobs just like you and me). Plans are in the works for a spring outing possibly encompassing Europe, the rest of the U.S. and Canada. Here are the few dates scheduled at the moment (watch out for the icicles):

08-26 New York, NY - Mercury Lounge*
09-23 Haverford, PA - Haverford College#
09-24 Boston, MA - Great Scott$
11-28 Baltimore, MD - Ottobar%

* - with Oxford Collapse
# - with More Dogs
$- with Night Rally, Tunnel of Love
%- with Cerberus Shoal, Micah Blue Smalldone