Austin band alexalone have announced a new album, ALEXALONE TECHNICAL RESEARCH, due out this Friday, September 29 via Polyvinyl (digitally) and on physical media on October 27. It’s the follow-up to 2021’s ALEXALONEWORLD, and the first single is “ALL I NEED,” which builds slowly to crushing magesty. Watch the accompanying video, directed by the band’s Drewsky Hulett and Ivy Chiu, below.
Alex Peterson (formerly a bassist in Hovvdy and Lomelda) says, “for the last three years, I was living with my family in Georgetown. It was my first time living in the suburbs, not to mention the pandemic so the only places you could go were outside. I had been wanting to do HRT for a while and this kind of isolated environment actually ended up being ideal since I had my family who knew me really well to get through the second puberty of sorts. The song is kind of processing all of those things and asking questions about how things could be. Pretty open ended but that’s the future I guess. For the second half we all figured out a progression that felt in line with the emotions of the ‘song part’ but was moving even slower. Sometimes finding what you need is a real slog.”
Drewsky Hulett and Ivy Chiu add:
Something we (Ivy and Drewsky) discussed early on in the ideation of this music video was movement: yes, movement in the literal sense of dance and cinematic motion, but also movement through life from birth to rebirth and so on. The constant revisions of purpose and direction in our own lives have always felt simultaneously like a repetitious nightmare and a superpower – to be malleable enough to flow with everything life brings and resilient enough to maintain a sense of self.
We wanted to reflect some of alexalone’s processes for writing and performing their music throughout our film-making process; they rely on friendship, play, and experimentation to craft epic and imaginative songs. In this spirit, we decided to approach everything with a healthy dose of improvisation. This meant that collaboration and experimentation from every performer and crew member were leading the creative vision, and the result is this beautifully rich expression of discovery, curiosity, and the inherent eeriness of finding one’s way through life.
We were lucky to be joined by some of our favorite drag and movement performers from Austin’s vibrant queer community, and our incredibly talented film community, who all generously gave so much to this project <3
alexalone will be on tour through the fall and into 2024, including dates supporting Palehound, Squirrel Flower, and Deerhoof. Their NYC show is headlining, on November 24 at Baby’s All Right. Tickets are on sale now, and you can see all dates below.
ALEXALONE – ALEXALONE TECHNICAL RESEARCH TRACKLIST
1. ALL I NEED
2. FULL BODY LEARNING
3. LEVITATE
4. ANGELMAKER
5. HEAD IN THE CLOUDS
ALEXALONE: 2023-2024 TOUR DATES
09/28 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk $
09/29 – San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger $
10/13 – Austin, TX @ Swan Dive +
10/28 – Austin, TX @ Parish – Levitation % w/ Speedy Ortiz
11/01 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge %
11/02 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah %
11/03 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room %
11/04 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel %
11/06 – Seattle, WA @ Madame Lou’s %
11/07 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios %
11/08 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux %
11/09 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court %
11/10 – Denver, CO @ Globe Hall %
11/11 – Fort Collins, CO @ The Lyric %
11/13 – Kansas City, MO @ Minibar
11/14 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry %
11/15 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon %
11/16 – Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
11/17 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle %
11/18 – Columbus, OH @ A&R Music Bar %
11/19 – Detroit, MI @ Outer Limits
11/20 – Toronto, ON @ The Monarch Tavern
11/24 – New York City, NY @ Baby’s All Right
11/25 – Philadelphia, PA @ Haus
11/27 – Raleigh, NC @ The Pour House
11/28 – Asheville, NC @ Static Age
11/30 – New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa
12/01 – Austin, TX @ The Parish #
02/06 – Austin, TX @ The Ballroom ∞
02/07 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada ∞
$ w/ Frankie Cosmos, Good Morning (duo)
+ w/ Lauren Lakis
% w/ Palehound
# w/ Deerhoof
∞ w/ Squirrel Flower
