It’s been a long journey for Pelican—from their sludgy reductionist beginnings in the DIY spaces of Chicago, through their tenure as forerunners to the burgeoning international community of artists fusing post-rock’s dramatic melodicism with thinking man’s metal, and to their ascension into the canon of the elder statesmen in the brainy and brawny realm of the underground rock world. The band encountered no shortage of ups and downs along the way, and those peaks and valleys often found an analog in the moods and timbres of Pelican’s sonic palette, with youthful frustrations channeled into the unrepentant dirges of their self-titled debut or new opportunities afforded by their increasing popularity manifested in the expanded vistas of City of Echoes. In the process of writing their sixth album Nighttime Stories, the quartet endured a slew of realisations, tragedies, and glimmers of optimism that guided the creative process to the most potent album of their eighteen-year career.

Pelican have always excelled at vacillating between the savage sounds of various niches of metal underground and the more delicate and nuanced sounds of Midwest’s cerebral indie community, proving that they can make either end of the spectrum more vibrant and compelling through the art of contrast. With Nighttime Stories, the pendulum has swung back to the angst and ire of their younger years while delivering it with the nuance and wisdom that’s come with nearly two decades of writing and performing.

PELICAN UPCOMING TOUR DATES

sat 05/10/2019 NL Nijmegen Soulcrusher festival w. Daughters, The Secret, …
sun 06/10/2019 DE Berlin Lido w. Slow Crush
mon 07/10/2019 DE Dresden Beatpol w. Slow Crush
tue 08/10/2019 CZ Prague Futurum w. Slow Crush
wed 09/10/2019 DE Munich Feierwerk w. Slow Crush
thu 10/10/2019 IT Milan Legend Club w. Slow Crush
fri 11/10/2019 GR Athens Fuzz Club tba
sat 12/10/2019 ES Barcelona AM fest w. Alcest, The Album Leaf
sun 13/10/2019 PT Porto Amplifest w. Deafheaven, Touche Amore
tue 15/10/2019 UK London Islington Assembly Hall w. Slow Crush
wed 16/10/2019 UK Manchester Gorilla w. Slow Crush
thu 17/10/2019 UK Glasgow The Classic Grand w. Slow Crush
fri 18/10/2019 UK Birmingham Asylum w. Slow Crush
sat 19/10/2019 BE Antwerp Desertfest Ty Segall, Bongripper