Yukon Blonde has now announced the details of its third album, On Blonde, out June 16 via Dine Alone Records. After recently releasing the first single “Saturday Night” to instant acclaim the band has now shared a second album track “Como” as well as the video for “Saturday Night”. The decadent and camp-laden video bridges punk, disco and glam rock while playing with notions of ego and sexuality in a single-shot format. It’s directed by Mac Boucher (Grimes, Te Shi) and stars drag queen Sapphire.
Boucher says “I first saw Sapphire perform at a drag show nearly a year ago, and I knew I had to work with her in some way. She’s animated, glamorous, and is straight up one of the best performers I’ve ever seen. The idea of a drag queen is fascinating, because dissimilar to transgender, the drag queen’s purpose is to perform, provoke, and really, really question what you’re seeing… which is always a good thing in my opinion. Sapphire’s character, ‘Diva’, similar to Tim Curry’s in Rocky Horror, has a commanding presence that literally pulls us through the environment.”
On Blonde is the follow up to the band’s JUNO Award-nominated and Polaris Music Prize listed breakout Tiger Talk (2012) and is once again engineered and co-produced by Colin Stewart (Dan Mangan + Blacksmith, New Pornographers, Black Mountain) at The Hive and mixed by Tony Hoffer (M83, Beck, Foster the People, Depeche Mode). Analogue synthesizers, modulating Moog saw tooth leads, and FM soft pads, create an atmosphere akin to city street summer midnight meanderings. Wiry guitars, stabbing or jangly make way for fuzzed out phasing lead tones. This sonic atmosphere permeates through the entirety of the record.
On Blonde is an exercise in pop pleasures ranging from spiky guitar-driven tracks to Depeche Mode-dark synth songs and irrepressible sing-alongs. On Blonde builds on Yukon Blonde’s reputation for seamlessly crafted pop songs with infectious melodies and hooks, all the while experimenting with psychedelic, digital and synthetic sounds.
“It’s a more dynamic and more visceral album than our previous records,” explains frontman Jeff Innes. “We were more ambitious writing On Blonde so it’s sort of ironic that in experimenting we created a more accessible record than ever before.”
PRE-ORDER ON BLONDE HERE
Yukon Blonde Tour Dates:
May 01, 2015 – Saskatoon, SK @ Capitol Music Club
May 23, 2105 – Calgary, AB @ Red Bull/Dine Alone 10th Anniversary Tour
Jun 20, 2015 – Swift Current, SK @ Windscape Kite Festival
Jun 25, 2015 – Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival
Jun 26, 2015 – Port Renfrew, BC @ Tall Trees Festival
Jul 24, 2015 – Oro, ON @ Wayhome Festival
Jul 25, 2015 – Kelowna, BC @ Centre of Gravity Festival
Aug 21, 2015 – Golden, BC @ Golden Sound Festival
Aug 22, 2015 – Oliver, BC @ Tinhorn Winery
Vandala Magazine 