TAUK has announced details of the band’s latest studio album, Chaos Companion, due out on September 24th. The band previewed its upcoming instrumental LP with the single, “The Let Out”, featuring a music video with special guest star Sammi Garett (Turkuaz).
Recorded in quarantine, Chaos Companion serves as TAUK’s first studio effort since 2018’s Shapeshifter II: Outbreak. In that time, the quartet has expanded its existing electro-prog sound to include an even wider swath of influences.
The new album abounds with forays into everything from ’70s film scores to ’80s retro video game soundtracks to ’90s R&B. Chaos Companion was recorded at the band’s newly-completed studio in Long Island, NY.
“Everyone’s got a chaos companion, something that keeps you grounded in the midst of all the madness,” bassist Charlie Dolan said of the album’s title. “Maybe it’s your spouse, maybe it’s your kids, maybe it’s your dog. For us, it was the music.”
Unlike many other bands, TAUK remained relatively quiet during the live music shutdown. The band performed a lone livestream—which allowed fans to pick the setlist—and didn’t get in on the trend of drive-in or pod concerts. Instead, the group hunkered down in the studio and crafted new material, ready to explode out of the gate when TAUK finally made its first post-lockdown appearance at Mountain Music Festival on June 4th, which saw the live debuts of new originals “Eldridge Awakes” and “Aquatic Curtain”.
“This past year presented us with more time to be creative and delve into our artistic expression,” keyboardist Alric Carter said in a press release. “Recording Chaos Companion opened up new avenues for us to explore and stands as a story of our time spent together. It has been super exciting to collaborate and pick from a wide variety of new songs to make this album.”
Along with the announcement, TAUK has shared the second single off Chaos Companion, “The Let Out”. The track follows the previously released “Moon Dub” and continues a trend of expressive videos directed by Dani Barbieri. In contrast to the space-themed “Moon Dub”, “The Let Out” brings viewers back down to Earth as special guest star Sammi Garett prepares for her first post-quarantine date. Meanwhile, the band provides a seductive soundtrack as the video makes startling thematic jumps from romance to comedy to tragedy in a video that would require a full-fledged film review to be truly explained.
“Music tells a story,” Carter added. “It makes us laugh, smile, feel and we’ve been having a blast showing that side of us.”
Watch the new music video for “The Let Out” from TAUK and pre-order the band’s new album Chaos Companion here. TAUK will support the album on the group’s upcoming Chaos Companion tour, set to begin later this month with a Phish after-show on August 13th in Atlantic City. For a full list of the band’s tour dates, head here. Scroll down to see a full tracklist and album artwork for Chaos Companion.
TAUK – “The Let Out” (Official Music Video)
[Video: TAUK]
