Minneapolis band Night Moves just release their new album “Pennied Days” and are ready to embark on a US tour to promote it. They journey will start on April 14 at First Avenue supported by Carroll and Gramma’s Boyfriend. Tickets are still available HERE.
Formed in 2009 in the Twin Cities, Night Moves is composed at its core of Pelant and his 28-year-old partner in crime, Micky Alfano. Friends since high school, their bond was solidified when Alfano lent Pelant his copy of George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass, a luminous classic of turn-the-page melancholy that echoes through Pennied Days. (Record geeks will recognize those glistening George Harrison guitar slides on stunning Pennied Days’ highlights such as “Hiding In The Melody” and “Leave Your Light On.”) Over time, Pelant and Alfano have broadened their scope to allow for a wide array of maverick influences, ranging from traditionalist heroes like Leon Russell and The Band to r’n’b originators Curtis Mayfield and Sly Stone to pre-punk experimentalists Suicide. (They also love Joe Walsh, like all right-thinking Americans.)
For Pennied Days, Pelant channeled both his disillusionment and his quiet resolve into a set of beautiful, melodic songs whose sunny surface obscures an inner darkness. Pennied Days might ultimately be as breezy and pleasurable as the records Pelant grew up loving, but little about how the album was made was easy. “A lot of the songs are about trying to find yourself and what your future will look like and who you are – life overall,” Pelant says now — a seemingly simple statement about the most complicated of personal journeys. After wowing critics with Night Moves’ 2012 debut, Colored Emotions — and touring with the likes of Father John Misty, Lord Huron, Django Django, and Polica — Pelant eagerly set about recording demos for the follow-up. Originally, he planned on making another record quickly — Pelant is compulsively creative, writing loads of hooky pop songs in short bursts. (The band has few hobbies outside of music, beyond “drinking, wasting time talking about life, girls, and partying.”)
Apr 14 Release Show at First Ave!!! w/ Carroll Minneapolis, MN
Apr 16 Schubas w/ Carroll Chicago, IL
Apr 18 The Drake Toronto, Canada
Apr 19 Le Divan Orange Montreal, Canada
Apr 21 Boot & Saddle Philadelphia, PA
Apr 22 Rough Trade NYC Brooklyn, NY
Apr 23 Great Scott Allston, MA
Apr 24 DC9 Washington, DC
Apr 25 Rumba Cafe Columbus, OH
Apr 26 The Hi-Fi Indianapolis, IN
Apr 27 The Frequency Madison, WI
May 04 Eagles Bozeman, MT
May 06 Sunset Tavern Seattle, WA
May 07 Doug Fir Portland, OR
May 10 Richshaw Stop San Francisco, CA
May 11 Velvet Lounge Santa Barbara, CA
May 12 The Echo Los Angeles, CA
May 13 Casbah San Diego, CA
May 14 Rebel Lounge Phoenix, AZ
May 18 Sidewinder Austin, TX
May 19 Rudyard’s Pub Houston, TX
May 20 Double Wide Dallas, TX
May 21 Tank Room Kansas City, KS
May 22 Reverb Lounge Omaha, NE
