Protomartyr are back with a new album called Formal Growth in the Desert. Stream it via Apple Music or Spotify below.
In a press release, Protomartyr singer Joe Casey recalled undergoing formal growth of his own — in his hometown of Detroit, though, more than the proper desert. The death of his mother following a 10-year-plus battle with Alzheimer’s combined with a series of break-ins in his family home prompted the artist to finally move out. “The desert is more of a metaphor or symbol,” he explained, “of emotional deserts, or a place or time that seems to lack life.”
Guitarist Greg Ahee co-produced Formal Growth In The Desert alongside Jake Aron. Lead single “Make Way” opens the album with alternating quiet and intensity, with western-sounding guitar and Casey’s low drawl building to commanding chants to, of course, “make way.” The track comes with a music video directed by Trevor Naud, who explained in a statement that “There’s a deliberate through-line between the videos for ‘Make Way’ and 2020’s ‘Worm In Heaven.’ The two songs feel partnered with each other, so I wanted the videos to feel like they exist in the same world.”
Watch the clip for “Make Way” below, and scroll onward for the artwork and tracklist for Formal Growth in the Desert. The follow-up to 2020’s Ultimate Success Today was also previewed by the singles “Elimination Dances” and “Polacrilex Kid.”
Protomartyr are currently on a lengthy world tour that will wrap its North American leg in July before heading over to Europe and the UK. See their full list of tour dates below, and grab tickets via Stubhub.
Formal Growth in the Desert Artwork:
Formal Growth in the Desert Tracklist:
01. Make Way
02. For Tomorrow
03. Elimination Dances
04. Fun in Hi Skool
05. Let’s Tip the Creator
06. Graft Vs. Host
07. 3800 Tigers
08. Polacrilex Kid
09. Fulfillment Center
10. We Know the Rats
11. The Author
12. Rain Garden
Protomartyr 2023 Tour Dates:
06/13 — Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
06/14 — Montreal, QC @ Fairmount
06/15 — New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
06/16 — New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
06/17 — Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
06/20 — Washington, DC @ Black Cat
06/21 — Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
06/22 — Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
06/23 — Nashville, TN @ Blue Room
06/24 — St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway
06/26 — Oklahoma City, OK @ 89th Street
06/28 — Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole
06/29 — Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room
07/01 — San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
07/02 — Santa Cruz, CA @ Moe’s Alley
07/05 — Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
07/06 — Vancouver, BC @ Cobalt
07/07 — Seattle, WA @ Crocodile
07/08 — Spokane, WA @ Lucky You
07/11 — St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
07/12 — Madison, WI @ High Noon
07/13 — Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
08/06 — Frankfurt, DE @ Zoom
08/07 — Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
08/09 – Brighton, UK @ Concorde 2
08/10 — Nottingham, UK @ Rescue Rooms
08/11 — Cardiff, UK @ Clwb lfor Bach
08/12 — Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
08/14 — Eindhoven, NL @ Effenaar
08/15 — Hannover, DE @ Indiego Glocksee
08/17 — Copenhagen, DK @ Loppen
08/18 — Bodo, NO @ Parkenfestivalen
08/19 — Trondheim, NE @ Pstereo
10/19 — Galway, IE @ Roisin Dubh
10/20 — Limerick, IE @ Dolan’s Warehouse
10/21 — Dublin, IE @ The Button Factory
10/23 — Manchester, UK @ YES (The Pink Room)
10/24 — Bristol, UK @ The Trinity Centre
10/25 — Birmingham, UK @ Hare & Hounds
10/26 — London, UK @ Electric Ballroom
10/28 — Rouen, FR @ Le 106
10/29 — Antwerp, BE @ Trix Club
10/30 — Groningen, DE @ Vera
10/31 — Hamburg, DE @ Banhof Pauli
11/01 — Leipzig, DE @ UT Connewitz
11/02 — Berlin, DE @ Hole44
11/04 — Athens, GR @ Gagarin 205
11/06 — Munich, DE @ Strom
11/07 — Zurich, CH @ Bogen F
11/09 — Paris, FR @ La Station
11/10 — Lyon, FR @ Marché Gare
11/11 — Annecy, FR @ Le Brise Glace
11/13 — Bologna, IT @ Locomotiv Club
11/14 — Torino, IT @ Spazio 211
11/15 — Marseille, FR @ Le Makeda
11/16 — Montpellier, FR @ Le Rockstore
