Today, Brooklyn-based instrumental rock-fusion quartet TAUK announced the upcoming release of their new full-length album, Shapeshifter II: Outbreak, due out on September 28th. According to a press release announcing the new LP, the album offers “an unsettling but ultimately exhilarating look at artificial intelligence and its potential to upend our world.” The album is now up for pre-order on CD, and the vinyl release will combine both EP Shapeshifter I and LP Shapeshifter II on Double Vinyl. The band also shared the album’s first single, “Convoy” available to stream now.
As the release notes,
Equally inspired by classic sci-fi like Blade Runner and more recent films like Ex Machina, Shapeshifter II: Outbreak embeds that narrative into TAUK’s most sonically adventurous, emotionally expansive work to date. A continuation of their early-2018 EP, Shapeshifter I: Construct, the new album picks up its predecessor’s narrative thread with “Prelude”: a fantastically unsettling intro track whose frenetic keyboard work and chilling vocal samples set the tone for what’s to come.
“The idea is that in the EP you’re seeing the construction of this being, and in the album, you’re seeing it break out and become something that you can’t ignore anymore,” explains keyboardist Alric “A.C.” Carter.
The album was produced by longtime TAUK cohort and Grammy-winning producer/mixer/engineer Robert Carranza (The Mars Volta, Ozomatli, Marilyn Manson, Taj Mahal). In contrast to their previous albums like 2016’s Sir Nebula, the foursome skipped the traditional studio environment for Shapeshifter II: Outbreak, instead holing up in a long-abandoned, 100-year-old Long Island home, which drummer Isaac Teel describes as “the Jumanji house meets Addams Family meets Amityville Horror.”
“Overall the whole process was incredibly organic—there were no constrictions as far as time or space, nothing ever felt forced,” says bassist Charlie Dolan. “There was a greater feeling of possibility, and it ended up being a really liberating experience for all of us.”
Guitarist Matt Jalbert adds, “The location definitely added to the vibe of everything we were going for. It was like we set up a laboratory in the middle of nowhere and shut off the rest of the world, which really helped get us into a specific headspace.”
The new album’s impending release is not the only new info TAUK has shared. The release also notes that several videos and “vibrant artwork” from illustrator Raul Urias are on their way, which will add “a new dimension to the album’s concept.” The band also indicated that a new crop of tour dates will be announced next week.
Watch the animated teaser video and listen to the new track in full below:
TAUK – “Convoy”
TAUK will perform tomorrow as part of this weekend’s ongoing Camp Bisco festival and is scheduled to perform at The Motet‘s new festival Motet on the Mesa on July 28th before headlining Shadefest in Elkins, VA, set to take place on August 9th and 10th. For a list of announced dates, see below. For more information, hit the TAUK website.