Los Angeles-based Allah-Las will release their new album Calico Review on September 9 via Mexican Summer. The band is also debuting the video for their first single from the record “Famous Phone Figure,” directed by Robbie Simon. Using string instruments and an underlining of a three-note drumming theme, the song revolves around a character sketch of an unknowable woman.

The album was recorded in Los Angeles’ historic Valentine Recording Studio, which had lain dormant since 1979. The studio’s reopening in July 2015 allowed the band to use historic recording equipment including a 1964 Universal Audio 610 soundboard, the same board on which The Beach Boys recorded Pet Sounds. For Calico Review, Allah-Las experiment with new instrumentation adding viola, harpsichord, Mellotron and theremin to their sound. The twelve tracks on Calico Review demonstrate how the group has pivoted from focusing on specific influences to crafting songs that reflect their own feelings of freedom, grit and melancholy. The result showcases their evolution as songwriters and arrangers.

Allah-Las is composed of Pedrum Siadatian (vocals/lead guitar), Miles Michaud (vocals/rhythm guitar), Matthew Correia (vocals/drum), and Spencer Dunham (vocals/bass). The band was formed in 2008 while three of the members were working at the legendary Amoeba Music record store. “We were all music fans before we were musicians,” says Correia. “We’ve spent a lot of time listening to music, and understanding what works for us and what doesn’t.”

CALICO REVIEW TRACK LIST

1. Strange Heat
2. Satisfied
3. Could Be You
4. High & Dry
5. Mausoleum
6. Roadside Memorial
7. Autumn Dawn
8. Famous Phone Figure
9. 200 South La Brea
10. Warmed Kippers
11. Terra Ignota
12. Place In The Sun

ALLAH-LAS NORTH AMERICA TOUR DATES

June 17—Levitation Festival—Vancouver, Canada
June 18—Sunstock Solar Festival—Los Angeles, CA
July 29—Underground Music Showcase—Denver, CO
August 21—Full Moon Festival—Governors Island, NY
September 5—Beauty Bar—Las Vegas, NV
September 6—Urban Lounge—Salt Lake City, UT
September 7—Fox Theatre—Boulder, CO
September 9—Off Broadway—St. Louis, MO
September 10—Hi-Tone Café—Memphis, TN
September 11—Exit/In—Nashville, TN
September 12—The Basement—Columbus, OH
September 15—Rock & Roll Hotel—Washington, DC
September 18—Brighton Music Hall—Boston, MA
September 19—Johnny Brenda’s—Philadelphia, PA
September 21—La Tulipe—Montreal, QC
September 22—Lee’s Palace—Toronto, ON
September 23—Double Door—Chicago, IL
September 24—Turf Club—St. Paul, MN
September 28—Neumos—Seattle, WA
September 29—Wonder Ballroom—Portland, OR
October 7—Pappy & Harriet’s—Pioneertown, CA
October 8—The Regent Theater—Los Angeles, CA