Fontaines DC, Nas: News Round-Up

Fontaines DC by Theo Cottle

A brand new album from Fontaines DC and Nas‘ anniversary tour of a classic were among last week’s biggest headlines.

Fontaines DC have confirmed the details of their fourth studio album ROMANCE.

Their first working with producer James Ford, the news has been announced with the thumping new single Starburster, complete with a compellingly high-concept video from director Aube Perrie.

“We’ve always had this sense of idealism and romance,” Conor Deegan reflected.

Angel Olsen will be reminiscing on her career to-date during the Songs From The Archive Tour later this year.

The solo gigs will take in favourites and lesser spotted cuts from Strange Cacti through to Big Time, the 2022 album which played a prominent part in Live4ever’s retrospective series at the end of that year.

“After a prolific few years, Big Time reflected profound personal change,” our review reads.

Jamie xx is streaming his new single Baddy On The Floor online after its premiere on Jack Saunders’ BBC Radio 1 show.

Baddy On The Floor first saw light of day at All Points East in 2021, and is now neatly preceding this year’s festival appearances which will start with Glastonbury on June 28th.

After that is a trip over to Chicago for Pitchfork Music Festival on July 20th, this followed by another US booking in Inglewood, CA for HARD Summer Music.

The 30th anniversary of Nas‘ stone-cold classic debut album Illmatic is to be celebrated later this year with a European tour.

It’ll open at House Of Culture in Helsinki, Finland on October 22nd, and move on to Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Italy and Switzerland during the remainder of that month.

November will then bring more mainland European gigs in Vienna, Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris and Offenbach ahead of the UK leg which is set to launch on November 10th at Manchester’s O2 Victoria Warehouse.

Hak Baker has unveiled Task Master, his first music since last year’s debut album Worlds End FM.

“Yin, Yang. Ups and downs are synonymous and if ya don’t know how to ride them both then you’re finished. In the words of my friend Tom, nothing much going on round here, that’s why there’s always crime…but you got to bore your own light and never give up. That’s the most important factor. Life is the Task Master. What doesn’t kill ya make you harder.”

It’s out with festival appearances booked for the summer, including the Reading/Leeds bank holiday weekend in August.

Catfish And The Bottlemen have added an outdoor concert at Sefton Park in Liverpool to their 2024 touring.

Around 32,000 people could be there on July 11th when the band continue their comeback which took in the brand new single Showtime earlier this year, recorded in Los Angeles with producer Dave Sardy following the 2019 LP The Balance.

“Opener and first single Longshot is a typically anthemic sentiment on taking a gamble with a relationship seemingly just out of reach,” our review reads.