Details Emerge About John Vanderslice's Romanian Names

We've been watching for release information for John Vanderslice's latest, Romanian Names, ever since we heard the release party was going to be at the Rickshaw Stop in May. Well, now that waiting has paid off, and Vanderslice's new label Dead Oceans has dropped a significant press release about the record. It's full of goodies, including the album cover are (above), an mp3, and the tracklisting (below).

The press release starts things off with a bang, claiming that the new record is "the best record he's made to date". It then goes on to make a wide range of claims and comparisons, including the holy grail that is Berlin-era Bowie. Typically, we'd be inclined to write this off as record company hype. Except for the fly in the ointment: we really really enjoy the first track leaked off the album, "Fetal Horses".

The track has an extremely different feel from previous Vanderslice material. The instrumentation feels looser and more experimental, and the arrangements artfully complex, while still maintaining an air of minimalism. But the largest difference has to be the vocals. Vanderslice's voice sounds more confident, more stable, and less quirky than it ever has before. The change really serves to make the track less of a "great John Vanderslice song", and instead just a really damn great song. In short, we really dig it.

You'll have to wait a bit for the record, but check out "Fetal Horses" below.

mp3: John Vanderslice - Fetal Horses

Romanian Names Tracklisting
Tremble And Tear
Fetal Horses
C&O Canal
Too Much Time
D.I.A.L.O.
Forest Knolls
Oblivion
Sunken Union Boat
Romanian Names
Carina Constellation
Summer Stock
Hard Times

Romanian Names drops 5/19, the record release is at Rickshaw Stop on the same day