Photo by: Ben Rayner
Official press release:
Nothing return with their third installment, Dance On The Blacktop. The next chapter of Nothing’s story pulls from all corners of life in its contents. Stories of self-loathing, self-destruction, and a general disdain for humanity and its, “insignificant” role in Domenic Palermo’s vision of the universe are met with his poised amusement and tranquil hysteria being one himself. All of this told through the eyes of a recently diagnosed Palermo suggesting he is dealing with the early stages of CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy), a neurodegenerative disease found in people with serious head injuries. And as they packed themselves in a coffin-sized NYC apartment for 23 days to demo songs it became clear that the ripple effect left upon his psyche from dealing with these newfound symptoms would leave its mark on the material.
Nothing sought out celebrated producer John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr., Breeders, Sonic Youth, Kurt Vile) to help accentuate the band’s love for all sounds 90s, from rock to shoegaze to pop realms and on both sides of the pond. The next month was spent tracking at the historical Dreamland Studios in Woodstock, NY with newly appointed bassist Aaron Heard. As days moved by, Palermo spewed songs of heightened confusion, anxiety, paranoia, depression, and chronic battles with physical pain – a result of his unstable past and more recent illness. These themes, spoken in a lush angelic language are juxtaposed against the band’s now signature apocalyptic, reverberating wall of shimmering sound, all captured beautifully by Agnello and the open room.
“Zero Day”, the album’s lead single, debuted via Stereogum who caught up with the band to discuss the making of the album, its themes, concepts and more for their most recent Cover Story. Palermo explains the track:
“‘Zero Day’ refers to the amount of difficulty a person faces when attempting to close the door on all sense, meaning, or value when thinking on our existence is hard to put in words, but to me it has always been the latter. I’ve laid awake countless nights contemplating human life, its hostile uselessness, and why I’m one of the few who choose to see it that way yet manage to move onward. So I suppose in that sense ‘Zero Day’ is a song of paradoxical enlightenment.”
Palermo first discovered Dance On The Blacktop’s title, taken from ancient prison slang meaning a fight or hit during outside recreation, in the works of urban fiction writers Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim. Known for their popularity throughout the prison system, Palermo became acquainted while he was incarcerated, later finding it to be a symbolic interpretation of the album’s philosophy. Palermo preaches:
“I’ve learned to bask in the absurdity of it all- in the chaos. There’s beauty in the confusion if you can learn to hold its hand.”
While sticking to the sound that has now become their own, you can still hear the band testing their boundaries and creating a plethora of genre-bending, yet widely accessible songs. As a band, Nothing manage to muster a smile in the face of the illogical, and there is no denying that Dance On The Blacktop is a brave walk into the absurdity.
Dance On The Blacktop will be released on Relapse Records August 24th. There will be a limited run of a 2xLP, deluxe version. The core album will be on LP1, pressed on tri-colored vinyl with an exclusive second 12″ picture disc featuring 4 bonus tracks. The album includes artwork directed by Mark McCoy (Youth Attack Records, Charles Bronson), Domenic Palermo and shot by Ryan Lowry. For more info and to reserve a copy, visit here. For all digital retailers visit here.
Dance On The Blacktop track listing:
1. “Zero Day”
2. “Blue Line Baby”
3. “You Wind Me Up”
4. “Plastic Migraine”
5. “Us/We/Are”
6. “Hail On Palace Pier”
7. “I Hate The Flowers”
8. “The Carpenters Son”
9. “(HOPE) Is Jus Another Word With A Hole In It”
Tour Dates:
9/07 – Washington, DC | Rock & Roll Hotel *
9/08 – Cleveland, OH | Grog Shop *
9/09 – Columbus, OH | Ace of Cups *
9/11 – Detroit, MI | The Shelter *
9/12 – Chicago, IL | Lincoln Hall *
9/13 – Minneapolis, MN | 7th Street Entry +
9/14 – Lawrence, KS | Record Bar +
9/15 – Denver, CO | Bluebird Theater +
9/18 – San Jose, CA | The Ritz +
9/19 – San Francisco, CA | Great American Music Hall +
9/20 – Los Angeles, CA | The Regent Theater +
9/22 – San Diego, CA | Soda Bar +
9/23 – Phoenix, AZ | The Rebel Lounge +
9/25 – Dallas, TX | Club Dada ^
9/26 – Austin, TX | Mohawk ^
9/27 – Houston, TX | Secret Group ^
9/29 – Atlanta, GA | Masquerade ^
9/30 – Durham, NC | Motorco Music Hall ^
10/05 – Brooklyn, NY | Warsaw ^
10/06 – Philadelphia, PA | Union Transfer ^
10/07 – Boston, MA | The Sinclair ^
* = w/ Culture Abuse, Smut
+ = w/ Culture Abuse, Big Bite, Smut
^ = w/ The Swirlies, Big Bite, Smut
Nothing is:
Domenic Palermo – lyrics/vocals/guitar
Brandon Setta – guitar/vocals
Aaron Heard – bass
Kyle Kimball – drums