The Naked and Famous have announced the release of a new album, A Still Heart. The album is a collection of acoustic renditions of TNAF hits and favorite tracks recorded over their decade-long career.
The artistic duo from New Zealand that make up TNAF (Alisa Xayalith and Thom Powers) have announced, along with this new album, a spring 2018 “Stripped” North American tour that will follow the same acoustic concept.
This new “stripped” acoustic format TNAF are taking on will give fans the chance to see the band more intimately and “feel the heart of the groups performances and songwriting,” per a press release. Audiences will get the chance to reimagine a band that is known for their heavy rock electronica in a more minimal and deconstructed way.
So far, the group has released stripped version of four songs from their catalogue. These include the single off Simple Forms, “Higher,” and a medley comprised of two songs from the group’s album In Rolling Waves’ (“A Stillness” and “Hearts Like Ours”) titled “A Still Heart.”
The group’s resident producer, Thom Powers, said in regards to their new album: “The concept of stripped back Naked and Famous recordings goes beyond just the bare bones of voice and guitar … I’ve always loved minimal music and it’s been inspiring to boil these songs down to their core ingredients. At which point, reimagining them begins to feel like writing them for the first time.”
The group’s decision to move towards a more simplified sound comes to little surprise, as their latest album Simple Forms was widely praised for moving beyond synth-pop towards a more dynamic sound. Xayalith had this to say about recording new versions of the group’s songs: “It was an amazing feeling to explore the songs in this way. We weren’t capable or confident enough to perform like this when we began the band but I think after all this time we finally feel comfortable.”
Moving from their normally heavily produced shows to a basic, vocals and guitar set-up will undoubtedly be challenging for the group. Still, fans of TNAF are sure to welcome this change and follow the group through the new stage of their musical journey.
Listen to the acoustic medley “A Still Heart” and TNAF’s 2012 Daytrotter Session below, and find the band’s 2018 tour dates further down. Tickets go on sale Friday, Jan. 12 at 1 p.m. EST.
The Naked and Famous 2018 North American Tour Dates
March
08 – Santa Ana, Calif. @ The Observatory OC
09 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ Largo
10 – San Francisco, Calif. @ Swedish American Hall
12 – Portland, Ore. @ The Old Church
13 – Seattle, Wash. @ Columbia City Theatre
14 – Vancouver, British Columbia @ Rio Theatre
16 – Boulder, Colo. @ Fox Theatre
17 – Aspen, Colo. Belly Up Aspen
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