Tom Verlaine Prepares Two New Albums
With his icy blue guitar lines straight out of a Tron-like future, Television guitarist Tom Verlaine was the most distinctive axe-slinger of the 70s punk scene (sorry Brian James, but it's true). Verlaine's recorded output has been slim in recent years, but that will change this spring, with two new Verlaine solo discs set to hit stores on April 25.
Songs and Other Things and Around, both coming out on Thrill Jockey, will be Verlaine's first releases of new material since 1992's Warm and Cool. (Warm and Cool was reissued by Thrill Jockey last year.) While not quite a calculated Use Your Illusion move, the twin albums will offer up both sides of Verlaine's post-Television output in two tidy packages, with the former disc featuring vocals and lyrics, and the latter an instrumental album.
Verlaine's first solo album adorned with his distinctive singing style since 1990's The Wonder, Songs and Other Things features 14 new tracks. Around, the 16-song instrumental disc, will be a jazzier set, utilizing many of the same musicians found on Warm and Cool, including Television drummer Billy Ficca.
The blow up:
>>Songs and Other Things:
01 A Parade in Littleton
02 Heavenly Charm
03 Orbit
04 Blue Light
05 From Her Fingers
06 Nice Actress
07 A Stroll
08 The Earth Is in the Sky
09 Lovebird Asylum Seeker
10 Documentary
11 Shingaling
12 All Weirded Out
13 The Day on You
14 Peace Piece
>>Around:
01 The O of Adore
02 Brief Description
03 Rain, Sidewalk
04 Shadow Walks Away
05 Meteor Beach
06 Mountain
07 Candle
08 Balcony
09 Flame
1O Curtains Open
11 Eighty Eights
12 A Burned Letter
13 Wheel Broke
14 The Suns Gliding!
15 New
16 Rings
For fans who missed Verlaine and co. on the last couple Television reunion gigs, a world tour in support of the albums is also in the works. Currently assembling his backing band, Verlaine is tentatively scheduled to hit the road in late April/early May. It will be his first solo outing in more than a decade.
