Posted on: October 11, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

BIRDS & BATTERIES gears up for next week’s release of “I’ll Never Sleep Again” with a jam-packed fall tour. The tour kicks off tonight in Reno, NV at Fort Ryland and concludes with a homecoming in San Francisco, CA at The Knockout on October 29. See current dates below. The Birds & Batteries fall tour is comprised of the band’s strongest lineup yet (Mike Sempert on guitar, Brian Michelson on drums and laptop, Jill Heinke on bass and Julie Thomasson on keys and synths.)

“I’ve never been more excited about any incarnation of Birds & Batteries as I am about this one,” Sempert says. “For those that have seen us live, it should be clear why. For those that haven’t seen us play, come find out.”

The band is also garnering nationwide praise from the press including a feature on NPR.org which you can view here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14696186

“I’ll Never Sleep Again” will be self released next Tuesday, October 9. Inspired by the sparkle of 70’s studio rock (Neil Young, Steely Dan) and driven by the compositional freedom of electronic music (Cornelius, Hot Chip), the sophomore album from Birds & Batteries further develops the band’s original components of analog and digital, pedal steel and synthesizers, country and city. Recorded at John Vanderslice’s Tiny Telephone Studios by Ian and Jay Pellicci (Deerhoof, Erase Errata, Dilute, Okay), “I’ll Never Sleep Again” is equal parts explosive pop and epic balladry, four-on-the-floor beats and lonesome Americana.

10.13 Somerville, MA @ P.A.’s Lounge w/ Matters & Dunaway, Deertick and Curtain Society
10.14 Brooklyn, NY @ Goodbye-Blue-Mondays
10.15 Washington, DC @ The Velvet Lounge
10.16 Raleigh, SC @ The Pour House
10.17 Athens, GA @ Tasty World
10.18 Pensacola, FL @ Sluggo’s
10.20 Ft. Worth, TX @ The Moon
10.21 Dallas, TX @ The Barley House
10.22 Albuquerque, NM @The Atomic Cantina
10.24 Tucson, AZ @ Café Passe
10.25 San Diego, CA @ Scolari’s Office
10.26 Los Angeles, CA @ Pehr Space Gallery
10.27 Long Beach, CA @ The Prospector
10.29 San Francisco, CA @ The Knockout

Birds & Batteries on the Web: < http://www.birdsandbatteries.com/>
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR I’LL NEVER SLEEP AGAIN:

“One of the most impressive things about this band, however, is their range, one that is not afraid to include some slide guitar on the title track, which in turn, makes them sound like a 21 century cowboy .” – Portland Mercury

“…a project that’s a little bit country, a little bit rock ‘n’ roll, a little bit electronic, and all kinds of intriguing pop .” – The A.V. Club

“’I’ll Never Sleep Again’ makes good on the promise of Michael Sempert’s first self-released disc from 2005, ‘Nature vs. Nature,’ fleshing out his bleary electrocountry songs with a warm studio sheen. The palette is a satisfying mix of synthesizer and pedal steel, with washes of sound buoying Sempert’s undertow croon.” – San Francisco Bay Guardian

“Isn’t a band’s Neil Young cover usually reserved for the end of an album or set? Not so in the case of Birds & Batteries, the San Francisco collective conceived of and led by Mike Sempert. His mournful, downcast wail of a voice fills up the corners of ‘Heart Of Gold,’ and the strange urgency of the arrangment — it sounds more like Grandaddy than anything country, or maybe it’s Americana with a side of analog glitch — keeps us interested. There’s a pedal steel player in Birds & Batteries, and all manner of wood and brass instruments find a spot in the combo next to squelchy keyboards and clever mixing that always finds a way to manipulate the track subtly enough to seem like you’re listening to ‘I’ll Never Sleep Again’ on a slightly-eaten cassette tape.” – Detour Mag

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