Yamantaka // Sonic Titan is an experimental “Noh-Wave” outfit that, on their excellent 2012 debut, YT//ST, introduced the world to their striking fusion of noise, pop, industrial, and metal. In March, Yamantaka // Sonic Titan is due to drop their third album, a narrative LP called Dirt, on March 23rd, and the band just shared the record’s first single.
Called “Someplace”, the song’s placid opening evokes the sparkle of sunlight on an oceanic expanse, but clanging percussion, proggy synths, and thunderous guitars usher in a wave of storm clouds that don’t signal doom so much as darkness.
”’Someplace’ is about being in a situation that is familiar but isn’t really serving you or giving you purpose,” the band says of the song. “Wanting to move on, to blast past your old concerns and go on. You’d rather be someplace new and potentially dangerous than accept the slow decay of the situation you’re already in. It’s time to go faster, to get more and go further.”
They also offered fans a glimpse into the album’s fantastical story, which, like its predecessor, takes place on the planet Pureland. “‘Someplace’ sets us off into the deep, plunging into another mythscape from the planet Pureland. Dirt’s heroine, Aentsik, is leaving everything she knows on a mission taking her from the bubble dome cities orbiting her flooded planet, to the colossal ruins and vestiges of humanity resting on the ocean floor, all to raise the abandoned turtle starship, Anowara, and retrieve the last sample of arable soil.”
Has anybody scooped up those film rights yet? Listen to “Someplace” below.
Dirt arrives March 23rd via Paper Bag Records. The band is also hitting the road in March for a North American tour. Check out the full list of dates, as well as the album’s artwork and tracklist, below.
Dirt Artwork:
Dirt Tracklist:
01. Karonhiake
02. Someplace
03. Dark Waters
04. Yanders
05. The Decay
06. Beast
07. Hungry Ghost
08. Dirt
09. Tawine
10. Out Of Time
Yamantaka // Sonic Titan 2018 Tour Dates:
03/14-16 – Austin, TX @ South By Southwest
03/17 – New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa
03/18 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
03/19 – Durham, NC @ Duke University
03/20 – Washington, DC @ Union
03/22 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Sound Hole
03/24 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
03/25 – Cambridge, MA @ Middle East
03/27 – Montreal, QC @ L’Escogriffe
03/28 – Quebec City, QC @ L’Anti
03/29 – Toronto, ON @ Baby G’s
03/30 – Samia, ON @ Refined Fool Brewing Co.
03/31 – Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
04/01 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
04/02 – Winnipeg, MB @ Handsome Daughter
04/04 – Saskatoon, SK @ Amigos
04/05 – Edmonton, AB @ Starlite Room — Lower Hall
04/06 – Calgary, AB @ The Palomino
04/07 – Spokane, WA @ The Bartlett
04/08 – Seattle, WA @ Vera
04/09 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
04/10 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
04/12 – Los Angeles, CA @ Resident LA
04/13 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
04/14 – Tuscon, AZ @ Club Congress
04/17 – Wichita, KS @ Barleycorns
04/18 – Kansas City, MO @ Riot Room
04/19 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
04/20 – Indianapolis, IN @ Pioneer
05/18 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret
