Pitchfork

The march toward SXSW has begun! Joining the ranks of the many, many bands gearing up for a holy crusade to take back Austin from whomever and whatever inhabits Austin the other 51 weekends of the year: the Asthmatic Kitty one-two punch of Brooklyn's Castanets and Vancouver's Shapes and Sizes.

Like many bands this time of year, these two hop in the tour van for a little warm up spate of dates, then rock the big one in mid-March, then cool down with another stretch. Don't be surprised if they're wheezing a bit by the end of this one. You know, because they're Asthmatic? No? Fine, just sit there and frown, see what I care.

This should bring smiles back: Castanets and Shapes and Sizes will sell copies of an exclusive tour EP at all shows, collecting three new S&S jams and one very special cover from Castanets-- of a song by the Knife!

In related news, the second 7" in Asthmatic Kitty's previously reported Unusual Animals series-- featuring our pals Castanets and their pals Dirty Projectors-- arrives March 6. Castanets serve up "BlackWater", an eerie, psyched-out swamp dirge full of the squeaky guitar strings we've come to expect from the band, while Dirty Projectors contribute typically weird yet infectious fare in the form of "Silence in the Land". Stream both tracks here.

And, bonus, you can still listen to the first Unusual Animals 7", out January 23 and featuring Shapes and Sizes and the Weird Weeds, right here.

Castanets + Shapes and Sizes:

01-19 New York, NY - Mercury Lounge *
03-05 Brooklyn, NY - Europa
03-06 Philadelphia, PA - Danger Danger
03-07 Baltimore, MD - Floristree Space
03-08 Washington, DC - Warehouse Next Door
03-09 Chapel Hill, NC - Nightlight
03-10 Athens, GA - Caledonia Lounge
03-12 New Orleans, LA - Green Project Space
03-13 Houston, TX - The Proletariat *
03-14 SXSW *
03-15 Asthmatic Kitty Records Showcase (SXSW)
03-16 Free Agency/Terrorbird Day Party *
03-17 Okay Mountain Gallery (SXSW) *
03-17 Secretly Canadian Distribution Party (SXSW) #
03-19 Springfield, MO - Randy Bacon Gallery
03-20 Kansas City, MO - The Pistol
03-21 St. Louis, MO - Off Broadway
03-22 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
03-23 Ann Arbor, MI - EQ Halfass at University of Michigan
03-24 Toronto, Ontario - Sneaky Dee's
03-25 Ottawa, Ontario - Zaphod's
03-26 Montreal, Quebec - Friendship Cove
03-27 Boston, MA - Middle East
03-28 Providence, RI - AS220
03-29 New York, NY - TBA

* Castanets only
# Shapes and Sizes only