The Montréal-based rock quartet Ought will follow up their critically lauded 2014 debut LP More Than Any Other Day with their next full-length, Sun Coming Down, due out September 18th via Constellation Records. Having met at McGill University, the band’s identity and sense of purpose were forged during Quebec’s “Maple Spring”, a time of protest and civil unrest in response to the government’s proposed college tuition hikes. More Than Any Other Day revealed a young band brimming with primal energy and yearning, led by Tim Darcy, a galvanizing frontman with the kind of singular lyrical delivery that is nearly impossible to take your ears off of. The album earned the group high praise, including Pitchfork’s “Best New Music“, and they subsequently spent the year playing live throughout the US and Europe.
Ought’s newest effort, Sun Coming Down, was recorded during the winter of 2015 at the Hotel2Tango in Montréal, and today we checkout the album’s first two singles: “Beautiful Blue Sky” and “Men For Miles“. Darcy’s commanding vocal delivery stands at the heart of these tracks, and his voice has an immediately recognizable quality that often seems to draw together a host of voices from the annuls of punk rock. Shades of Mark E. Smith’s cool and acerbic drawl can be heard on both of these cuts, but while Smith often uses his to inject ire and invective into songs, on “Beautiful Blue Sky” Darcy sounds like a post-punk George Bailey exuding a wide-eyed humanity. “How’s the family/How’s the family…” he babbles, even while lamenting his cities’ dizzying growth of condo’s and new developments.
Musically, the band’s taut but fluid style bolsters these songs with drummer Tim Keen and bassist Ben Stidworthy‘s headlong rhythms providing the framework for Darcy’s alternately angular and unhinged guitar playing. While it often seems there are two guitars on these tracks, the “second” is actually Matt May on organ, and his fuzzed out tones compliment and counterpoint Darcy, providing a dramatic back-and-forth that exuberantly drives these cuts.
Ought is currently touring Europe before they head back this fall to play a bunch of North American dates. Check out the list out after the Soundcloud embed…
Ought Live 2015:
08-18 Hollerich, Luxembourg – Rotondes
08-19 Zurich, Switzerland – Bogen F
08-20 Lausanne-Pully, Switzerland – For Noise Festival
08-21 Kiewit-Hasselt, Belgium – Pukkelpop Festival
08-22 Hamburg, Germany – MS Dockville Festival
08-23 Biddinghuizen, Netherlands – Lowlands Festival
08-24 Groningen, Netherlands – Noorderzon at Vera
08-27 Portoferro, Italy – Barretto
08-28 Fordongianus, Italy – Frames
08-29 Brugnera, Italy – Soundpark Festival
09-01 London, England – Village Underground *
09-02 Manchester, England – The Deaf Institute *
09-03 Birmingham, England – Hare and Hounds * ^
09-04 Dorset, England – End of the Road at Larmer Tree Gardens
09-06 Vlieland, Netherlands – Into the Great Wide Open Festival
09-17 Montreal, Quebec – Ukrainian Federation (Pop Montreal)
09-30 Boston, MA – Great Scott
10-01 New York, NY – Mercury Lounge
10-02 Brooklyn, NY – The Silent Barn
10-03 Washington DC – Comet Ping Pong
10-05 Philadelphia, PA – Boot & Saddle
10-08 Minneapolis, MN – 7th St. Entry
10-09 Winnipeg, Manitoba – The Good Will
10-10 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan – Amigos Cantina
10-11 Edmonton, Alberta – Up + Downtown Music Festival
10-12 Calgary, Alberta – The Palomino Smokehouse & Social Club
10-14 Vancouver, Calgary – Red Gate
10-15 Seattle, WA – Sunset Tavern
10-16 Portland, OR – Bunk Bar
10-18 San Francisco, CA – Treasure Island Music Festival
10-19 Los Angeles, CA – The Echo
10-20 San Diego, CA – The Hideout
10-22 Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court
10-23 Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge
10-25 St. Louis, MO – The Demo
10-26 Detroit, MI – Majestic Café
10-27 Chicago, IL – the Beat Kitchen
10-29 Toronto, Ontario – Legendary Horseshoe Tavern
* with Shopping
^ with Health and Efficiency
