New Plants And Animals On Tap For April, Spring Tour Hits Canada and SXSW

Plants and Animals have been one of our faves here at HAD ever since we laid ears on their killer record Parc Avenue. Given that, we were more than a little excited to hear that their new full length, La La Land (cover above), will make its way into our eager little hands on the fine date of April 20th, 2010. As a group that's unquestionably staking out their own sound, Plants and Animals have continued to be a go-to band for us - put differently, their record ages extremely well.

The first track to emerge from the record is entitled "Tom Cruz" (below), and continues perfectly where the last record left off. It's a killer rock tune, an epic sprawling masterpiece, and more than anything, a solid lesson in the fine art of arrangement and production. The percussion and melody are expertly interspersed to a point where the risky transitions and innovative composition manage to reveal their complexity and sound completely natural at the same time.

Plants and Animals at The Rickshaw Stop, from the HAD Archive

In addition to the new record, the band will also be taking their fantastic live show on the road, with a spring tour that traverses much of their native Canada. As for US dates, thus far only South By Southwest has found a place on the band's calendar, although we have to guess that will change as the record's release grows near. Frankly, the only thing that has us more excited than the new record is the prospect of hearing new tunes live, so all in all this is very, very exciting.

Plants and Animals Spring 2010 Dates

Mar 12 Lee’s Palace (CMW Billion’s Showcase) Toronto, Ontario
Mar 13 CMW Indie Awards at the Royal York Hotel Toronto, Ontario
Mar 17 SXSW Austin, Texas
Mar 18 2SXSW Austin, Texas
Mar 19 SXSW Austin, Texas
Mar 20 SXSW Austin, Texas
Mar 21 2SXSW Austin, Texas
Apr 21 Theatre le Petit Champlain Quebec City, Quebec
Apr 22 La Tulipe Montreal, Quebec
Apr 23 Babylon Ottawa, Ontario
Apr 24 The Red Dog Peterborough, Ontario
Apr 28 West End Cultural Centre Winnipeg, Manitoba
Apr 29 Amigo’s Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Apr 30 Starlite Room Edmonton, Alberta
May 1 The Legion Calgary, Alberta
May 2 Habitat Kelowna, British Columbia
May 4 Sugar Nightclub Victoria, British Columbia
May 5 The Commodore Ballroom Vancouver, British Columbia

mp3: Plants and Animals - Tom Cruz

pictures: Plants and Animals at the HAD Archive