Melbourne’s Pretty City are one of the hardest working groups in the country. Their relentless touring schedule is nothing short of staggering, and they’ve recently come off a series of very well received shows art SXSW in Texas. Their last album, 2016’s Colorize was a beautiful, intimate and vibrant affair, with touches of the psychedelic rounding it all out. Their new album Cancel The Future see’s the light of day today – we had the band take us inside the album to give us some background on how it came to be, and what it means to them as artists.
“Cancel the Future is a land of extremes, a concept record we constructed through a turbulent time in life. It tells the story of disappearing love, communication breakdowns and the spirit of perseverance we all need to find in order to keep on chasing our dreams.
I’ve never been so honest in song, and the band has never unified its sound in this particularly angsty way. Lyrics were very important, the record is about cutting to the heart of an experience and creating a feeling bigger than the Sound. Many different approaches were used, we played some songs live, others we built up like orchestral works, and some utilised drum loops, samples and tape decks to create a darkened, electronic tonality.
Cancel the future is a consciously diverse record where each track represents a unique and distinct space inside the album. A track like ‘Television’ is a small, warm space, whereas ‘Nothing Happens For Free’ is a more explosive and muscular expression. ‘Same as Before’ & ‘Flying’ were intended as the album’s horizon line, bringing vastness and air to the record.
Thus, Cancel the Future has a start-to finish narrative, and I hope people listen to it in it’s entirety so as to experience it as the authentic journey of moments we’ve created. At it’s core, the album is a congruent exploration of ego, destiny & Future.
Cancel the Future is a heartfelt, lived story which we felt was worth telling. It’s an album I am proud to have survived and made, and one that I feel is worth presenting for people to hear.”
Catch Pretty City launching Cancel The Future in Melbourne on the 7th of April at The Curtain, or catch them around the world in the coming months. Dates below.
April 7th The Curtin Hotel Melbourne
April 18th B72 Vienna, Austria
April 19th Wakuum Graz, Austria
April 20th UFO Bruneck, Italy
April 21st Stadtwerkstadt Linz, Austria
April 22nd Boilerbauer Haag, Germany
April 23rd Klubovna Prague, Czech Republic
April 26th Sage Club Berlin, Germany
April 27th Zukunft Chemnitz, Germany
April 28th Freiraum Ubersee, Germany
April 30th Trachtenvogl Munich, Germany
May 1st Gokul Zabok, Croatia
May 2nd Last Weekend Munich Session Munich, Germany
May 3rd Werkk Baden, Switzerland
May 4th Astra Stube Rosenheim, Germany
May 5th Bart Timelkam, Austria
May 7th NBL Leipzig, Germany
May 8th Papp Bremen, Germany
May 9th Frischzelle Darmstadt, Germany
May 11th Molotow Hamburg, Germany
May 12th Live Club Bamberg, Germany
May 15th Prinz Willy Kiel, Germany
May 16th LUX Hannover, Germany
May 17th Haldern Pop Bar Haldern, Germany
May 18th Franzis Wetzlar, Germany
May 19th Kohl Karlsruhe, Germany
