Seattle Subsonic

Viva Voce Announce New Album

February 23rd, 2009

Hopefully, Viva Voce is nothing new to you. If they are, consider dunking your head in a bucket full of sand and calling yourself an ostrich. A totally-out-of-it wanker ostrich. Yeah…Anyway, the folky psych-rock duo of Kevin and Anita Robinson (married, obv) have finally released some details of their new record, Rose City, due out May 26th on Barsuk Records. The Portlanders have not only named the album after their hometown’s nickname, but have also incorporated a few more PDX stalwarts into their growing outfit.

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You might recall that said Robinsons took a fork in the road last year to begin a new project called Blue Giant. It was like a softer, countrified version of Viva Voce (natch). Evan Railton (Golden Bears) was part of that band and, along with Tu Fawning’s Corinna Rep, has now joined the VV ranks.

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Haven’t seen (i.e. heard) any new tunes yet, but I’ll be on the lookout for all you precious peeps.

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Press Release, track list, and tour dates (April 10th @ Chop Suey!) after the jump. Did you know that Anita sang harmonies on Wincing the Night Away? I had no idea.

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Since the 2006 release of their Barsuk debut Get Yr Blood Sucked Out, Portland, OR band Viva Voce toured non-stop for nearly 2 years, both as headliners and supporting fellow Portlanders The Shins in the US and abroad.

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Band founders Kevin and Anita Robinson took an entire year off from touring (unheard of for them) to finish their hand-built backyard home studio and gig around town with country rock band Blue Giant, and have since become something of a hub in the Portland music scene: Kevin has spent time producing and recording bands like Tu Fawning and Thao with The Get Down Stay Down. Anita sang harmonies on The Shins’ Wincing the Night Away album, and performed with them on SNL and on tour. With Blue Giant, Kevin and Anita made it a habit to incorporate a broad cast of Portland musicians to their live ensemble – and now the Viva Voce band itself has grown, as Kevin and Anita have welcomed Corrina Repp and Evan Railton to the official line-up.

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Now Viva Voce are back with Rose City, an album they wrote, arranged, and recorded themselves all in one furious month – choosing not to deliberate over every little thing but living purely in the moment musically and lyrically. Immersing themselves in sonic experimentation, it was truly spontaneous and cathartic. The result is an angular, immediate record that pulses with the palpable urgency of a band yearning for a return to the vagabond life of the working, touring musician – a mode in which Viva Voce feels truly at home.

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Viva Voce on tour:

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March:
12 San Francisco, CA Rickshaw Stop
13 Visalia , CA Cellar Door
15 Tucson, AZ Plush
16 Phoenix, AZ Rhythm Room
18 Austin, TX SXSW
19 Austin, TX SXSW
20 Austin, TX SXSW
22 Denver, CO Hi-Dive
24 Boise, ID Neurolux
28 Portland, OR Aladdin Theatre

April:
10 Seattle, WA Chop Suey
11 Salem, OR Elsinore Theatre

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Tracklisting:
Viva Voce – Rose City
1. Devotion
2. Die A Little
3. Octavio
4. Midnight Sun
5. Red Letter Day
6. Good As Gold
7. Rose City
8. Tornado Alley
9. Flora
10. The Slow Fade