California rockers the Mae Shi haven't put out a new LP since 2008's HLLLYH, a record of wacky, technicolor art-punk that still sounds like a blast today. In more recent years, there have been a few clues that founding member Tim Byron was possibly up to something pertaining to the band, and in January, he recruited bandmates old and new to open for Brainiac, repurposing HLLLYH as a new moniker. Today, the news is official: The Mae Shi are back with a new name, new lineup, and a new album URUBURU coming out in June. Its lead single "Dead Clade" is out now.
Byron initially intended for URUBURU to be the next and final Mae Shi album, dusting off old song ideas and embarking on an epic quest to "get the band back together." It was an inspiring and prolific time, and Byron wound up with way too much music for just one album. So instead of closing the chapter on the Mae Shi, he's starting a brand new book with HLLLYH, so to speak. (But old fans needn't fear: HLLLYH will still play some Mae Shi songs live here and there.)
By the band's own admission, "Dead Clade" does sound quite a bit like the Mae Shi, chock-full of cacophonous drums, dizzying guitar lines, and shout-along group vocals that get playfully existential: "We’re not special, we’re just what’s left/ We’re not chosen, we’re a dead clade." I'm not mad about it one bit!
Listen to "Dead Clade" and see the tracklist for URUBURU below.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Uru Buru"
02 "Flex It, Tagger"
03 "Evolver"
04 "(In Between)"
05 "Yellow Brick Wall"
06 "(Goodbye, Yellow Brick Wall)"
07 "Trapped In The Song"
08 "(Failed Teste)"
09 "S.O.S.O.S.O.S"
10 "Killer On The Edges"
11 "(Guess Who’s) Back From The Spirit World"
12 "Black Rainbows"
13 "Endless High Five"
14 "Dead Clade"
15 "I’m Glad You’re Alive"
URUBURU is out 6/27 via Team Shi.
