BIOGRAPHY
A Lull’s Meat Mountain signifies new freshness, growth and maturity. The Chicago-based band is always changing, trying to evolve from what it was, into something exciting and new. During the recording of Meat Mountain, the quintet sought to achieve more by using less. While previous recordings often relied on creating “walls of sound,” Meat Mountain employs open space as an instrument as well. Most of the core instrumentation was written live, recording demos, rehashing and rebuilding. The band continued to diversify its sound by discovering synth tones that seemed to almost feel like throwback sounds, but new all the same. There was more experimentation with elements such as saxophone solos, flute riffs and even cymbals into the recordings for the first time. The resulting music therein is more sincere and more transparent in Meat Mountain than any of A Lull’s previous work.
After extensive touring throughout 2011 and early 2012 with bands such as Cold War Kids and Gauntlet Hair and the release of A Lull’s debut full length album, 2011′s Confetti, the band dedicated time in early 2012 to record five new songs. The EP was written, recorded, produced & mixed by the band.
Recorded in the unseasonably mild winter months of Chicago in 2012, the songs feel warm, rambunctious and full of warmth and summer. The songs feel tighter, while organic poly-rhythms lend clarity and life to the music. Lyrically, Nigel Evan Dennis sings of simpler things. A woman wearing a summer dress, crooning, the dichotomy between fascination with and the distance from the super models that we idolize. He sings of fighting and friends. Meanwhile, a some other songs tread into darker territory with ruminations on the thought of what it would be like to be kidnapped and the terrifying notion of serial killers and creative inadequacy. Lyrically, the songs of Meat Mountain create pictures of scenes, fears, obsessions, love and longing.
The album artwork was created by scanning a chuck-eye cut of steak. The steak was then cooked to medium doneness and eaten. The artwork for the EP is an attempt at being every bit as iconic as unique. Utilizing illustrations by Bill Connors, the art matches the overall feeling and aesthetic of the EP, somethings that are hopeful, somethings that we are all scared of and something things that are a part of everyday life. Released on single-sided LP, the package was meant to be seen in this scale.
PRESS"[their] songs built measured but grand crescendos laced with international polyrhythms" -
NY Times
"From end to end, Dennis delivers a tireless performance: he darts, he dives, he dips, he sprinkles syllables in fizzy staccato and/or he smears them across a song in breathy fashion" -
Pitchfork
"thumping drum beats and booming choruses that explode from your headphones." -
NYLON
"Employing afrobeat-inspired drums, fuzzed-out vocal pads and digital-age symphonics, A Lull create ever-changing scenery within the same song." -
AOL Spinner
"himing psychedelic sounds also act as unexpected bridges across the hypnotic repetition of the main vocal theme." -
Consequence of Sound
"remarkably light, the layers and layers (and layers) of sounds, mostly rhythms, flitting and fluttering like confetti itself." -
Chicago Sun Times
"their sound exists in-between pop and experimental, digital and physical, cold and warm, less so straddling these opposites than valuing the cracks created by them." -
Windy City Rock
"blended with beautifully crafted songwriting, the result is a sound that is as unique as it is memorable." -
In Your SpeakersCONTACT
www.alull.com
General
info@alull.com
Booking
Jay Moss (Flower Booking)
Press
George Corona III (Terrorbird)
Radio
Karen Moran-Thoms (Terrorbird)
Licensing
Glen Philips (Windish Agency)CURRENT TOUR
7.15.12 @ Pitchfork Music Festival, Chicago, IL
7.25.12 @ Beachland Tavern / Cleveland, OH
7.26.12 @ Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA
7.27.12 @ Pianos, New York, NY
7.28.12 @ DC9, Washington, DC
7.29.12 @ Galaxy Hut, Arlington, VA
7.31.12 @ Brillobox, Pittsburgh, PA
8.1.12 @ Cafe Bourbon Street, Columbus, OH
8.2.12 @ MOTR Pub, Cincinnati, OH
8.3.12 @ Magic Stick Lounge, Detroit, MI
8.4.12 @ Founders Brewery, Grand Rapids, MI
PAST TOURS12.19.08 @ Reggie's Rock House, Chicago, IL
2.2.09 @ Subterranean, Chicago, IL
2.28.09 @ The Bottom Lounge, Chicago, IL
3.20.09 @ The Bottom Lounge, Chicago, IL
4.19.09 @ The Abbey Pub, Chicago, IL
5.1.09 @ County Line Apple Orchard, Hobart, IN
5.8.09 @ The Bottom Lounge, Chicago, IL
5.9.09 @ Amp Lounge, Chicago, IL
6.3.09 @ Empty Bottle, Chicago, IL
6.7.09 @ Schubas, Chicago, IL
6.8.09 @ The Record Bar, Kansas City, MO
6.25.09 @ The Frequency, Madison, WI
7.3.09 @ The Beat Kitchen, Chicago, IL
7.16.09 @ The Bottom Lounge, Chicago, IL
7.19.09 @ Molly Malone's, Covington, KY
7.20.09 @ The Tea Bazaar, Charlottesville, WV
7.21.09 @ The Smiling Moose, Pittsburgh, PA
7.22.09 @ The BugJar, Rochester, NY
7.23.09 @ P.A.'s Lounge, Somerville, MA
7.24.09 @ Piano's, New York, NY
7.25.09 @ All Asia, Cambridge, MA
7.26.09 @ The Annex, New York, NY
7.27.09 @ Galaxy Hut, Arlington, VA
7.28.09 @ Khyber, Philadelphia, PA
7.29.09 @ The Evening Muse, Charlotte, NC
7.30.09 @ The Empty Glass, Charleston, WV
7.31.09 @ The Dame, Lexington, KY
8.3.09 @ Schubas, Chicago, IL
8.8.09 @ High Noon Saloon, Madison, WI
9.11.09 @ Metro, Chicago, IL
9.15.09 @ Birdy's, Indianapolis, IN
9.16.09 @ Molly Malone's, Covington, KY
9.17.09 @ Arlene's Grocery, New York, NY
9.19.09 @ Sullivan Hall, New York, NY
9.20.09 @ Pianos, New York, NY
9.22.09 @ Bugjar, Rochester, NY
10.2.09 @ The Hideout, Chicago, IL
10.7.09 @ Schubas, Chicago, IL
10.16.09 @ Stonefly Brewery, Milwaukee, WI
10.17.09 @ Broad Ripple Music Fest, Indianapolis, IN
11.22.09 @ LaSalle Power Co., Chicago, IL
11.23.09 @ Schubas, Chicago, IL
12.21.09 @ Empty Bottle, Chicago, IL
1.22.10 @ Vollrath Tavern, Indianapolis, IN
1.23.10 @ Skull Alley, Louisville, KY
1.28.10 @ Pianos, New York, NY
1.31.10 @ Galaxy Hut, Arlington, VA
2.1.10 @ The Evening Muse, Charlotte, NC
2.2.10 @ The Elbow Room, Columbia, NC
2.3.10 @ Drunken Unicorn, Atlanta, GA
2.4.10 @ The Engine Room, Talahassee, FL
2.5.10 @ The Nick, Birmingham, AL
2.6.10 @ Alabama Music Box, Mobile, AL
2.8.10 @ Super Happy Fun Land, Houston, TX
2.9.10 @ Hole In The Wall, Austin, TX
2.10.10 @ Bill's Records (In Store), Dallas, TX
2.11.10 @ Soundpony, Tulsa, OK
3.16.10 @ Easy Street, Dubuque, IA
3.18.10 @ Soundpony, Tulsa, OK
3.19.10 @ SXSW (The Tap Room), Austin, TX
4.18.10 @ The Empty Bottle, Chicago, IL
6.13.10 @ Subterranean, Chicago, IL
6.18.10 @ The Skyline Room, Valparaiso, IN
7.17.10 @ Schubas Pitchfork After Party, Chicago, IL
with Here We Go Magic, Sharon Van Etten
7.18.10 @ Double Door Pitchfork After Party, Chicago, IL
7.24.10 @ Moes, Denver, CO UMS Showcase
8.02.10 @ Now That's Class, Cleveland, OH
8.03.10 @ Frankie's Inner City, Toledo, OH
8.04.10 @ Thunderbird Cafe, Pittsburgh, PA
8.05.10 @ The Green Line, Philadelphia, PA
8.06.10 @ Littlefield, Brooklyn, NY
8.07.10 @ Pianos, New York, NY
8.09.10 @ Union Hall, Brooklyn, NY
9.03.10 @ Bottom Lounge, Chicago, IL
10.07.10 @ The Waiting Room, Omaha, NE
10.08.10 @ The Bottleneck, Lawrence, KS
10.09.10 @ The Hair Hole, Columbia, MO
10.22.10 @ Quenchers, Chicago, IL
11.05.10 @ Metro, Chicago, IL
11.07.10 @ Courtyard Cafe, Urbana, IL
1.13.11 @ Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL
with Besnard Lakes
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Tour with Cold War Kids
3.03.11 @ Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR
3.04.11 @ WOW Hall, Eugene, OR
3.05.11 @ Vogue Theatre, Vancouver, BC, CA
3.06.11 @ Knitting Factory Concert House, Boise, ID
3.08.11 @ Ogden Theatre, Denver, CO
3.09.11 @ Granada Theatre, Lawrence, KS
3.10.11 @ First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
3.11.11 @ The Riviera Theatre, Chicago, IL
3.12.11 @ The Rave, Milwaukee, WI
3.14.11 @ St. Andrews Hall, Detroit, MI
3.15.11 @ Blue Note, Columbia, MO
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3.18.11 @ SXSW (Bat Bar), Austin, TX
3.18.11 @ SXSW (Lipstick 24), Austin, TX
3.19.11 @ SXSW (Momo's), Austin, TX
3.19.11 @ SXSW (Space 12), Austin, TX
4.22.11 @ Schubas, Chicago, IL
7.22.11 @ MOTR Pub, Cincinnati, OH
7.28.11 @ The Ladies Literary Club, Grand Rapids, MI
7.29.11 @ Club Garibaldi's
Milwaukee, WI w/ All Tiny Creatures
7.30.11 @ 7th Street Entry
Minneapolis, MN
8.5.11 @ Madison Theater
Covington, KY w/ Cold War Kids
8.6.11 @ St Andrews Hall
Detroit, MI w/ Cold War Kids
12.30.11 @ Subterranean, Chicago, IL w/ Murder By Death
1.12.12 @ Replay Lounge, Lawrence, KS
1.13.12 @ Hi Dive, Denver, CO
1.14.12 @ Kilby Court, Salt Lake City, UT w/ Nurses
1.16.12 @ Manny's, Billings, MT
1.17.12 @ The Badlander, Missoula, MT
1.19.12 @ Mississippi Studios, Portland, OR
1.20.12 @ Comet Tavern, Seattle, WA
1.23.12 @ Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco, CA
1.24.12 @ Odd Fellows Hall, Davis, CA
1.26.12 @ The Echo, Los Angeles, CA
1.27.12 @ Tin Can Alehouse, San Diego, CA
1.28.12 @ Club Congress, Tucson, AZ
1.30.12 @ The Mohawk, Austin, TX
1.31.12 @ Dan's Silver Leaf, Denton, TX
2.1.12 @ Conservatory, Oklahoma City, OK
2.2.12 @ MOJO, Columbia, MO
2.3.12 @ The Rozz Tox, Rock Island, IL
2.4.12 @ The Sett at UW, Madison, WI
4.7.12 @ Middle of the Map Fest, Kansas City, MO w/ Fucked Up, Coalesce
4.26.12 @ Grog Shop, Cleveland, OH w/ Gauntlet Hair
4.27.12 @ Magic Stick, Detroit, MI w/ Gauntlet Hair
4.29.12 @ Schubas, Chicago, IL w/ Gauntlet Hair
4.30.12 @ High Noon Saloon, Madison, WI w/ Gauntlet Hair