premiere: TOPS announce new album Sugar at the Gate, share lead single “Petals”
We are beyond psyched to premiere the new single from one of our favorite bands of the last half-decade or so, Montreal's TOPS. "Petals" is a sinuous, timeless soft-funk-pop jam with some of the most bitingly relatable lyrics you'll hear in 2017 -- “got a phone full of numbers and a list full of names / no one to call / not much to say, anyway” -- taken from the group's stellar forthcoming album Sugar at the Gate, which was recorded in LA at a spot called "Glamdale," a mini-mansion and former brothel out in Glendale. Jane Penny talks about the magical allure of setting up camp on the best coast:
"Living in LA was living out a teenage fantasy, living with your band and practicing in the garage. It was also the first time we've ever had that much space to make music. I took the experience of living LA as a challenge to make music that I know is real to me, in the sense of it feeling true and containing true feelings, but also recordings of great songs, the real thing."
Sugar at the Gate is out June 2nd on Arbutus. Like the first two TOPS albums and subsequent singles, it is an absolute treasure that rewards repeat listens. Listen to "Petals" below, and pre-order the record on limited edition "sunshine yell-O" vinyl here.
TOPS // Sugar at the Gate
1. Cloudy Skies
2. Further
3. Petals
4. Dayglow Bimbo
5. Marigold & Gray
6. Cutlass Cruiser*
7. Hours Between
8. I Just Wanna Make You Real
9. Seconds Erase
10. Topless
*Song of the year until further notice. Catch TOPS on tour in Europe this June:
6/2 - Bristol, GB @ Southbank Club
6/4 - Manchester, GB @ The Ritz
6/5 - Brighton, GB @ The Joker
6/6 - London, GB @ The Dome
6/7 - Paris, FR @ Point Ephemere
6/8 - Amsterdam, NL @ De School
6/9 - Hamburg, DE @ Uebel & Gefaehrlich
6/10 - Berlin, DE @ Roter Salon
6/11 - Warsaw, PL @ Poglos
6/12 - Krakow, PL @ Klub RE