Little Scream
Little Scream announces new album, premieres video
Thrilled to announce Little Scream’s sophomore album Cult Following – set for release on May 6th via Dine Alone in Canada and Merge Records in the US. Watch the trippy new video for the album’s first single, “Love as a Weapon” premiering on Pitchfork. Directed by Dan Huiting, the video is appropriately vivid for a song that features emotional directives via dance call. The clip effectively captures the essence of the song that The Line of Best Fit describes as a “scorchingly optimistic venture of blissful enthusiasm that’s impossible to not be elated by.”
Little Scream, a.k.a. Laurel Sprengelmeyer, says she began conceiving of Cult Following while visiting a friend in a small intentional community in northern Brazil that was on the verge of becoming a cult. “People were running around reading auras, interpreting each other’s dreams, and ‘living on light’ instead of eating—which was as compelling as it was absurd. I became very aware of the entropy of belief. You could feel the magnetism of ideas take shape and pull people into their center like a black hole… a thing so filled with light that its own gravity means that none of it can escape.” That experience laid the groundwork for Cult Following, a lush, expansive, retro-leaning gem.
With nods to Tina Turner, Tracey Thorn, and White Album-era Beatles, Cult Following ambitiously straddles intimate fragility with bombastic dancefloor-ready songs. It stuffs glorious eras of art pop into a weird modern package—a far more extroverted expansion of the cinematic landscapes and themes from Little Scream’s previous album. Sprengelmeyer elaborates: “The first record was a ‘bedroom adventure,’ as in, songs you write in your bedroom without a real consciousness of them ever being public. With this record, I was really engaged with what it meant to be a ‘songwriter’ and performer, and pushed myself to go further on all fronts.”
Mary Margaret O’Hara, Sufjan Stevens, Sharon Van Etten, Aaron and Bryce Dessner from the National, Owen Pallett and Kyp Malone all make guest appearances on this album, but the world they inhabit is entirely Little Scream’s. Her voice acts as a tour guide through lush sonic landscapes carefully constructed with her creative partner, Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry.
Cult Following is available for pre-order now on CD and limited-edition translucent blue vinyl in the Dine Alone store. Digital pre-order will launch this Friday. Little Scream will tour with Thao & The Get Down Stay Down in April and Land of Talk in May, followed by a run of festival dates. See below for all upcoming shows. Stay tuned to Little Scream at Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and her official website.
CULT FOLLOWING TRACK LISTING
1) Welcome To The Brain
2) Love As A Weapon
3) Dark Dance
4) Introduction To Evan
5) Evan
6) Aftermath
7) The Kissing
8) Wishing Well
9) Wreckage
10) Someone Will Notice
11) Silent Moon
12) Goodbye Every Body
LITTLE SCREAM TOUR DATES
Apr 09 Toronto, ON – Adelaide Hall ^
Apr 11 South Burlington, VT – Higher Ground ^
Apr 12 Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair ^
Apr 13 New York, NY – Webster Hall ^
Apr 14 Hamden, CT – The Space w/ Yuck
Apr 15 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club ^
Apr 16 Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts ^
Apr 17 Richmond, VA – The Broadberry ^
Apr 18 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle ^
May 11 Montreal, QC – Theatre Fairmount %
May 12 Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace %
May 14 Brooklyn, NY – Baby’s All Right %
May 15 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom %
Jul 7-9 Lisbon, PT – NOS Alive 2016
Jul 22 New York, NY – Panorama Music and Arts Festival
Jul 22–24 Oro-Medonte, ON – WayHome Music & Arts Festival
Aug 12–13 Eau Claire, WI – Eaux Claires Festival
^ w/ Thao & The Get Down Stay Down
% w/ Land of Talk
