LITTLE SCREAM ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM, SHARES VIDEO FOR “LOVE AS A WEAPON”
CULT FOLLOWING SET FOR RELEASE ON MAY 6 VIA DINE ALONE RECORDS
TOUR DATES WITH THAO & THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN AND LAND OF TALK BEGIN APRIL 9
On May 6, Little Scream will release Cult Following on Dine Alone Records in Canada. To mark the announcement, viewers can watch the new for the album’s first single, “Love as a Weapon” courtesy of Pitchfork. Directed by Dan Huiting, the video is appropriately vivid for a song that features emotional directives via dance call. The clip effectively captures the essence of the song that The Line of Best Fit describes as a “scorchingly optimistic venture of blissful enthusiasm that’s impossible to not be elated by.”
"This video is a glimpse into my stream-of-consciousness brain,” says Huiting. “When I first listened to the song, I instantly had all these random ideas, like gold painted hands doing ASL, aerial shots of Laurel walking down a snowy barren road, a band performing against a backdrop of light tubes, etc., so I was really excited when Laurel and I were bouncing ideas back-and-forth that she was into all of the crazy set ups I had in mind, and also into the idea that instead of having to explain everything, we would just make these little visual landscapes and let them be what they are, fun and random, because that's what the song feels like to me."
WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “LOVE AS A WEAPON” TODAY VIA PITCHFORK
Little Scream, a.k.a. Laurel Sprengelmeyer, says she began conceiving of Cult Following while visiting a friend in a small intentional community in northern Brazil that was on the verge of becoming a cult. “People were running around reading auras, interpreting each other’s dreams, and ‘living on light’ instead of eating—which was as compelling as it was absurd. I became very aware of the entropy of belief. You could feel the magnetism of ideas take shape and pull people into their center like a black hole... a thing so filled with light that its own gravity means that none of it can escape.” That experience laid the groundwork for Cult Following, a lush, expansive, retro-leaning gem.
With nods to Tina Turner, Tracey Thorn, and White Album-era Beatles, Cult Following ambitiously straddles intimate fragility with bombastic dance floor ready songs. It stuffs glorious eras of art pop into a weird modern package—a far more extroverted expansion of the cinematic landscapes and themes from Little Scream’s previous album.
Sprengelmeyer elaborates: “The first record was a ‘bedroom adventure,’ as in, songs you write in your bedroom without a real consciousness of them ever being public. With this record, I was really engaged with what it meant to be a ‘songwriter’ and performer, and pushed myself to go further on all fronts.”
Mary Margaret O’Hara, Sufjan Stevens, Sharon Van Etten, Aaron and Bryce Dessner from the National, Owen Pallett, and Kyp Malone all make guest appearances on this album, but the world they inhabit is entirely Little Scream’s. Her voice acts as a tour guide through lush sonic landscapes carefully constructed with her creative partner, Richard Reed Parry (Arcade Fire).
Little Scream will tour with Thao & The Get Down Stay Down and Land Of Talk in April with more dates coming soon. Full tour dates can be found below.
PRE-ORDER PHYSICAL COPIES OF CULT FOLLOWING HERE
DIGITAL PRE-ORDER BEGINS MARCH 25
CULT FOLLOWING TRACKLIST
01 Welcome To The Brain
02 Love As A Weapon
03 Dark Dance
04 Introduction To Evan
05 Evan
06 Aftermath
07 The Kissing
08 Wishing Well
09 Wreckage
10 Someone Will Notice
11 Silent Moon
12 Goodbye Every Body
LITTLE SCREAM ON TOUR
Apr 09 Toronto, ON – Adelaide Hall ^
Apr 11 South Burlington, VT – Higher Ground ^
Apr 12 Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair ^
Apr 13 New York, NY – Webster Hall ^
Apr 14 Hamden, CT – The Space w/ Yuck
Apr 15 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club ^
Apr 16 Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts ^
Apr 17 Richmond, VA – The Broadberry ^
Apr 18 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle ^
May 11 Montreal, QC – Theatre Fairmount %
May 12 Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace %
May 14 Brooklyn, NY – Baby’s All Right %
May 15 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom %
Jul 79 Lisbon, PT – NOS Alive 2016
Jul 22 New York, NY – Panorama Music and Arts Festival
Jul 22–24 OroMedonte, ON – WayHome Music & Arts Festival
Aug 12–13 Eau Claire, WI – Eaux Claires Festival
^ w/ Thao & The Get Down Stay Down
% w/ Land of Talk
LITTLE SCREAM ONLINE