Noise-rock legends the Jesus Lizard have announced that their first new album together in 26 years will arrive in September.
Rack, due out September 13 via Ipecac Records, finds the band’s classic lineup of singer David Yow, guitarist Duane Denison, drummer Mac McNeilly, and bassist David Wm. Sims reuniting in the studio for the first time since their last LP, 1998’s Blue.
Following their initial breakup in 1999, the Jesus Lizard have staged a couple of reunion tours over the past quarter-century, but it wasn’t until recently that the group decided to reconvene on record. “We literally only made the record because we thought it would be fun to make the record,” Sims said in a statement.
Ahead of Rack’s release, the Jesus Lizard have shared the album’s first single and opening track, “Hide & Seek.” Yow said in a statement that the song is “a perky ditty about a witch who can’t behave, and it’s got nearly as many hooks as a Mike Tyson fight.”
In a New York Times interview published Wednesday, the Jesus Lizard discussed their new album in relation to their previous work — “the record is astonishing,” their longtime booking agent said — and revealed that only one of the tracks, “Lord Godiva,” has its roots in the Nineties, with the rest of the material written and recorded over the past five years.
“There are definitely some references to the past, but it’s more as a point of departure: We don’t stay there,” Denison said in a statement.
Rack — which continues the band’s run of four-letter album titles like Goat, Liar and Shot — is available to preorder now. Additionally, the Jesus Lizard have laid out touring plans that run from this June to next May.
Rack Track List
1. Hide & Seek
2. Armistice Day
3. Grind
4. What If?
5. Lord Godiva
6. Alexis Feels Sick
7. Falling Down
8. Dunning Kruger
9. Moto(R)
10. Is That Your Hand?
11. Swan The Dog
The Jesus Lizard Tour Dates
June 6 – Nashville, TN @ Third Man Records
June 8 – Pomona, CA @ No Values
June 9 – Garden Grove, CA @ Garden Amp
September 7 – Raleigh, NC @ Hopscotch Music Festival
October 13 – Las Vegas, NV @ Best Friends Forever Music Festival
October 31 – Dallas, TX @ Longhorn Ballroom
November 1 – Austin, TX @ TBA
December 9 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
December 11 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
December 12 – Boston, MA @ Roadrunner
December 13 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
December 14 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
December 18 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
May 2 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern
May 3 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre
May 5 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
May 8 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
May 10 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre