velvet-teen-2015

The Velvet Teen streaming first LP in 9 years, announce tour

by Andrew Sacher

photo by Sara Sanger
The Velvet Teen

The Velvet Teen put out an album every two years in the early-mid 2000s, but after their 2006 masterwork Cum Laude!, their output unfortunately slowed down significantly. The only release since then was 2010’s four-song No Star EP, but next week Topshelf Records will finally release their first album in nine years, All Is Illusory. Like we said about the first single, this whole album pretty much sounds like the culmination of its three very diverse predecessors.

They’ve got the same drummer as Cum Laude!, the excellent Casey Deitz, whose tricky fills and insane precision give All Is Illusory a similar sense of urgency to that album. But ballads like the title track, “The Veil Between” and the 11-minute “Taken Over” recall their sophomore album, Elysium (that last one is also a bit like How It Feels-era Sunny Day Real Estate). And a rocker like the under-two-minute “Eclipses” would fit right in on their debut. My personal favorite is “You Were the First,” which adds the crunchy guitars of their early work to the spastic art rock of Cum Laude!. It’s a good album start to finish, and you can listen for yourself below.

TVT will also support All Is Illusory on a lengthy tour in July and August. That brings them to NYC for a show on August 6 at Knitting Factory. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (6/26) at 10 AM.

All dates are listed, with the album stream, below…

The Velvet Teen — 2015 Tour Dates
7/17 – Seattle, WA – The Crocodile
7/18 – Portland, OR – Project Pabst
7/19 – Missoula, MT – Stage 112
7/20 – Billings, MT – The Pub Station
7/21 – Fargo, ND – The Aquarium
7/23 – Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall
7/24 – Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater
7/25 – Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon
7/26 – Chicago, IL – Wicker Park Fest
7/28 – Kansas City, MO – Record Bar
7/29 – St. Louis, MO – Firebird
7/30 – Grand Rapids, MI – Pyramid Scheme
7/31 – Cincinnati, OH – MOTR Pub
8/01 – Cleveland, OH – Now That’s Class
8/02 – Pittsburgh, PA – Brillobox
8/03 – Washington, DC – DC9
8/05 – Allston, MA – Great Scott
8/06 – Brooklyn, NY – Knitting Factory
8/07 – Philadelphia, PA – The Boot & Saddle
8/08 – Fredericksburg, VA – St. George’s Episcopal
8/10 – Atlanta, GA – Drunken Unicorn
8/11 – Ybor City, FL – New World Brewery
8/12 – Orlando, FL – Will’s Pub
8/14 – Austin, TX – Holy Mountain
8/15 – Dallas, TX – Club Dada
8/17 – Phoenix, AZ – The Rebel Lounge
v18 – San Diego, CA – Seven Grand
8/19 – Los Angeles, CA – The Satellite
8/20 – San Jose, CA – Cafe Stritch
8/21 – San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill
8/22 – Petaluma, CA – Phoenix Theatre