Sheer Mag unveil title track for new album, ‘Playing Favorites’

Sheer Mag have this week (November 9) unveiled details of their upcoming new album’s title track. Check out ‘Playing Favorites’ below.

• READ MORE: The Big Read – Sheer Mag: “So much rock music is bad and meaningless”

The band’s new album will arrive on March 1 via Jack White’s Third Man Records. The band recently revealed the first new track from their album, ‘All Lined Up’, and that they’d signed to Third Man. 

A statement about the album says the band “capitalise on a decade’s worth of devotion to their own collective spirit — a spirit refined in both the sweaty trenches of punk warehouses and the larger-than-life glamour of concert halls — emerging with a dense work of gripping emotions, massive hooks, and masterfully constructed power-pop anthems.” You can pre-order it here.

Speaking about the album’s title track, the band said: “After nearly ten years of touring together, we felt qualified to write a song about doing it. It’s a good introduction to the next era of Sheer Mag.”

Check out the song here:

‘Playing Favorites’ Track list
01 – ‘Playing Favorites’
02 – ‘Eat It and Beat It’
03 – ‘All Lined Up’ 
04 – ‘Don’t Come Lookin’
05 – ‘I Gotta Go’
06 – ‘Moonstruck’
07 – ‘Mechanical Garden’ 
08 – ‘Golden Hour’
09 – ‘Tea On The Kettle’ 
10 – Paper Time’
11 – ‘When You Get Back’

Reflecting on the difference between their upcoming album and the band’s previous work, vocalist Tina Halladay said: “those first few records felt like a personal coming out party; they felt like they were an introduction to me and my life story.

“With these new songs, I feel like I’m finally able to move past that—there are parts on this record that I couldn’t imagine being able to sing ten, five, or even three years ago.”

Halladay continued: “Nobody seems to write straight up rock bangers anymore – more than anything else, we want this record to put huge, catchy songwriting front and centre.”

The band also announced a Spring 2024 North America headlining tour which begins in March. Tickets are on sale now here.

Sheer Mag will play:

MARCH
29 – Washington, DC, Songbyrd
30 – Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle, Back Room
31 – Asheville, NC, Eulogy

APRIL
1 – Nashville, TN – The Blue Room at Third Man Records
2 – Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade, Purgatory
4 – New Orleans, LA – Gasa Gasa
5 – Houston, TX – The End
6 – Austin, TX – Far Out Lounge
7 – Dallas, TX – Double Wide
9 – Mesa, AZ – The Underground
10 – Tucson, AZ – Club Congress
11 – San Diego, CA – The Casbah
12 – Santa Ana, CA – Constellation Room
13 – Los Angeles, CA – Lodge Room
15 – San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Stop
17 – Portland, OR – Star Theater
18 – Seattle, WA – The Vera Project
19 – Boise, ID – The Shredder
20 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court
22 – Denver, CO – Hi Dive
24 – Omaha, NE – Reverb Lounge
25 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th St. Entry
26 – Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon
27 – Chicago, IL – Sleeping Village
29 – Kalamazoo, MI – Bell’s Eccentric Cafe

MAY
1 – Toronto, ON – Velvet Underground
3 – Buffalo, NY – Mohawk Place
4 – Troy, NY – No Fun

The band’s most recent album came in 2019 with ‘A Distant Call’, while 2021 saw them share the single ‘Crushed Velvet’ for Hulu’s original film The Ultimate Playlist of Noise.

‘A Distant Call’ was given a four-star review by NME, describing the record as a “semi-concept album about strife, struggle and the desire to overcome”.

“It’s no reinvention, but there are subtle tweaks here and there for a polished record that cements their place as a kick-ass rock’n’roll band with longevity. So what’s next, then? A rock opera? A double-album? We’re listening…”

Their song ‘Expect the Bayonet’, from 2017 debut album ‘Need To Feel Your Love’, was also played at a campaign rally for US Senator Bernie Sanders’ bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

You can view the original article HERE.