Country noir trio Elliott BROOD – “Mountain Meadows” out Oct. 6

Fall North American tour dates announced!

“Loosely based around a 19th century massacre in Utah, their album Mountain Meadows is delivered with exuberance and skill, with Mark Sasso growling like Drive By Truckers’ Patterson Hood.” – UNCUT * * * *

“Elliott Brood do for pre-war folk music what bands like The White Stripes and Black Keys do for blues.” – Globe and Mail * * * *

“It’s bleak, it’s black, it’s brilliant.” – The Sun

“the band members are masters at creating compelling narratives with such eerie ambiance you can’t help but pick road grit from your teeth” – The Coast

NEW YORK, NY: Toronto’s Elliott BROOD have been turning heads in their native Canada since 2004 for their distinctive sound, noir-ish lyrics and non-traditional approach to “traditional” music. The Juno-award nominated trio’s second full-length, Mountain Meadows, their first release here in the US, is set for an October 6, 2009 release through Six Shooter Records/ADA, with North American tour dates to follow.

The album title would seem to evoke a pastoral, peaceful scene but it actually refers to the Mountain Meadows Massacre, an 1857 event that left 120 men, women and children dead at the hands of militant Mormons and Native American tribesmen. Songwriters Mark Sasso and Casey Laforet were fascinated not with the tragedy but its aftermath –the mystery of what happened to the children who witnessed the massacre but were young enough to be allowed to live and what might have happened to them and their ancestors.

The album’s songs all grow out of this theme – a sort of “what if” musical novella that works as postcard to an era and time. Q Magazine (in a 4-star review) calls the album “a breathtaking amalgam of The Band’s sense of history and My Morning Jacket’s metallic country.”

Released in Canada in 2008 on Six Shooter Records, Mountain Meadows topped the Canadian college charts for 21 weeks and was nominated for a Juno award (the band’s second nomination). The album was also just shortlisted for the prestigious Polaris Prize for best Canadian album of the year based solely on artistic merit. The band was nominated alongside bands such as Metric and Great Lake Swimmers. Previous Polaris nominees include Feist, Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, The New Pornographers and Wolf Parade.

Says Sasso of the nomination, “I think it’s about the way we approach our writing. We sort of take ego out of it and the way we look at it is the songs are the most important thing. We kind of look at it like, when we’re making an album it’s a whole piece as opposed to singles. Everything has to fit together; it should unfold like a novel.”

With Mountain Meadows, Elliott BROOD has made a timeless album that continues to reward with repeated listenings as the nuances and stories reveal themselves. Live, they just put on a damn good rock and roll show.

Beginning September 19, 2009, the “Future Ghost Towns Tour” will take Elliott BROOD on an 8-week North American journey, including appearances at the Americana Music Association in Nashville, TN in September and at NYC’s CMJ festival in October before winding up their tour with a series of East Coast Canadian and US dates. Catch the BROOD live on one of the following dates and call for more information or to be serviced with this amazing album. www.myspace.com/elliottbrood

TOUR DATES:
*Stay tuned for additional dates

FR September 18 – NASHVILLE, TN: The Basement, Americana Music Association Conference
WE October 7 – VANCOUVER, BC: Biltmore
FR October 9 – SEATTLE, WA: Tractor Tavern
SU October 10 – PORTLAND, OR: Mississippi Studios
MO October 12 – SAN FRANCISCO, CA: Café du Nord
TU October 13 – LOS ANGELES, CA: Hotel Café
WE October 14 – PHOENIX, AZ: The Rhythm Room
FR October 16 – AUSTIN, TX: Emo’s
SA October 17 – DENTON, TX: Hailey’s

TU October 20 – CHICAGO, IL: Schuba’s
WE October 21 – CLEVELAND, OH: Beachland Tavern
FR- SU Oct. 23, 24, 25 – NEW YORK, NY: CMJ Festival, Venues TBA

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