Chris Staples
photo by Kyle Johnson

Chris Staples releasing 'Golden Age' on Barsuk, touring with Rocky Votolato

Chris Staples has been at it in some form or another for about two decades. He led the late ’90s/early ’00s emo band Twothirtyeight, who collaborated with Chris Carrabba on their second album and also put out a split with the post-Carrabba Further Seems Forever in 2002. After the demise of that band, Chris led the indie rock band Discover America, and he’s currently focusing on his solo career. His newest solo album, Golden Age, will be out on August 19 via Barsuk (pre-order), and going by the singles, it’s proof that he still has plenty more to say. He’s currently based in his label’s hometown of Seattle, and the kind of music he’s making now is right up the alley of prime-era Barsuk. The new single “Park Bench” should be instantly satisfying to anyone who wishes Death Cab still sounded like their pre-Plans period. That song premieres in this post, and you can stream it below along with previous single “Relatively Permanent.”

As mentioned, Chris is going on tour with Rocky Votolato, another ’90s-emo-singer-turned-folky-solo-artist who’s on Barsuk. The tour is in support of the 10th anniversary reissue of Rocky’s Makers, and it hits NYC on September 16 at Mercury Lounge. Tickets for that show are still available. All dates are listed below.

Chris Staples

Tracklist
1. Relatively Permanent
2. Golden Age
3. Missionary
4. Cheap Shades
5. Full Color Dream
6. Park Bench
7. Always On My Mind
8. Times Square
9. Vacation
10. Hepburn In Summertime
11. Dog Blowing A Clarinet
12. Diary

Chris Staples — 2016 Tour Dates
8.30.16 – Seattle, WA @ Record Release Show aboard the Steamship Virginia V
08.31.16 – Spokane, WA @ The Bartlett*
09.01.16 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux*
09.02.16 – Provo, UT @ Velour*
09.03.16 – Denver, CO @ Hi Dive*
09.06.16 – Kansas City, MO @ The Riot Room*
09.07.16 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry*
09.08.16 – Chicago, IL @ Schuba’s*
09.09.16 – Lansing, MI @ Mac’s Bar*
09.10.16 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop*
09.11.16 – Columbus, OH@ Rubma Cafe*
09.13.16 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Cafe*
09.14.16 – Philadelphia, PA@ Johnny Brenda’s*
09.15.16 – Boston, MA @ Great Scott*
09.16.16 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge*
09.17.16 – Washington, DC @ DC9*
09.19.16 – St. Petersburg, FL @ Local 662*
09.20.16 – Orlando, FL @ The Backbooth*
09.22.16 – Houston, TX @ Rudyard’s*
09.23.16 – Ft. Worth, TX @ The Live Oak*
09.24.16 – Austin, TX @ The Parish*
09.27.16 – Albuquerque, NM @ Low Spirits*
09.28.16 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Rebel Lounge*
09.29.16 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress*
09.30.16 – San Diego, CA @ The Casbah*
10.01.16 – Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theater*
10.03.16 – San Luis Obispo, CA @ SLO Brew*
10.04.16 – Reno, NV @ The Holland Project*
10.05.16 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill*
10.07.16 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios*
10.08.16 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern*

* – supporting Rocky Votolato