Pitchfork

Tortoise side projects are born, retired, and revived at a pace that completely belies the band's name, so it doesn't come as a huge surprise that three of members of the band-- John McEntire, John Herndon, and Dan Bitney-- are releasing an album of instrumental percussion under the name Bumps.

The surprise is that they're releasing the album, simply titled Bumps, on Stones Throw, that bastion of excellent underground soul and hip hop.

That's not to say it's not a nice surprise. In fact, the possibility of Bumps becoming the go-to sample source for a new generation of hip hop heads is mighty intriguing. The three-piece suit could become the new gold chain.

Stones Throw will release Bumps on June 19.

Don't forget, Tortoise will launch their North American summer tour in Columbus, Ohio on June 14.

Tracklist:

01 A Safe Balm
02 Biotic Discussion
03 ...As Bond Did
04 Crass Jenny
05 Craven
06 Deal Tree
07 Hello, Leo
08 Can You See?
09 Sniper Growl
10 OK!!!
11 A Dumb Month
12 Baby Johann
13 Exponent Memoir
14 Nashira
15 Fun Injury
16 Dawn at Dawn
17 Bin Johnston
18 Intermission Pt. 1
19 Intermission Pt. 2
20 Thorny Joint
21 Tryplmeade Gorsmatch
22 Don't Cry, My Son
23 Swingland Hit

Tortoise Dates:

06-14 Columbus, OH - Wexner Center
06-15 Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo
06-16 Lawrence, KS - Granada Theatre *
06-17 Omaha, NE – Waiting Room
06-18 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theatre
06-19 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
06-20 Phoenix, AZ - Rhythm Room
06-21 Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre
06-22 San Francisco, CA - Independent
06-23 San Francisco, CA - Independent
06-25 Portland, OR – Aladdin Theater
06-26 Seattle, WA - Neumos
06-30 Minneapolis, MN - Cedar Cultural Center
07-01 Chicago, IL – Metro
07-02 Ann Arbor, MI – The Blind Pig
07-03 Toronto, Ontario - Lee's Palace
07-05 Boston, MA - Museum of Fine Art
07-06 Philadelphia, PA – World Cafe
07-07 Washington, DC - Black Cat
07-08 New York, NY - Webster Hall #

* with Hot Chip
# with Kieren Hebden, Steve Reid