Barsuk Records is thrilled to debut “The Shakedown”, the second single off Yellow Ostrich’s sophomore LP Strange Land, out March 6th. Singer/guitarist Alex Schaaf noted Neil Young’s influence on the guitar part, while claiming that “the song is about imaginary people.” Rolling Stone premiered the “catchy and guitar-heavy” track.
“The Mistress was a guy in a bedroom,” says Schaaf, who grew up in Wisconsin and moved to New York in 2010. “Strange Land is a band. In a slightly bigger room.” They recorded most of the tracks in six days in a little studio outside of Woodstock, New York, and so while The Mistress used a purposely limited palette of sounds, Strange Land has a dramatically expanded one: Tapper’s inventive, downright catchy drumming provides a polyrhythmic foundation for many of the songs while Natchez plays no less than 11 different kinds of horns on the album, lending an almost symphonic air, while his nimble bass playing helps propel the music in its exciting new direction. (Photo Credit: Kyle Dean Reinford)
Yellow Ostrich tour dates:
3/4 – Mohawk Place – Buffalo, NY #
3/6 – Beachland Tavern – Cleveland, OH #
3/7 – The Pike Room at The Crofoot – Pontiac, MI #
3/8 – Empty Bottle – Chicago, IL #
3/9 – Der Rathskeller – Madison, WI &
3/10 – 7th St Entry – Minneapolis, MN #
3/11 – Cactus Club – Milwaukee, WI #
3/15-19 – SXSW – Austin, TX
3/19 – Solar Culture – Tucson, AZ
3/20 – Soda Bar – San Diego, CA
3/21 – Bootleg Theatre – Los Angeles, CA
3/23 – Bottom of the Hill – San Francisco, CA @
3/24 – The Depot at Humboldt State – Arcata, CA
3/26 – Mississippi Studios – Portland, OR %
3/27 – Media Club – Vancouver, Canada %
3/29 – Flying M Coffee – Nampa, ID %
3/30 – Kilby Court – Salt Lake City, UT %
3/31 – Hi Dive – Denver, CO %
4/2 – The Waiting Room – Omaha, NE %
4/10 – Johnny Brenda’s – Philadelphia, PA ^
4/11 – Black Cat Backstage – Washington, DC ^
4/12 – Mercury Lounge – New York, NY ^
5/27 – Sasquatch Music Festival – George, WA
# = with 1,2,3
& = with 1,2,3 and Lower Dens
@ = with Lost in the Trees
% = with Howler
^ = with TEEN