“Outlaw Love” By The Districts

The Districts today shared the third single from their forthcoming new album Great American Painting: the billowing, rhythmic “Outlaw Love,” which features backing vocals by Clementine Creevy of Cherry Glazerr. Out now alongside its Luke Orlando-directed video, the song “is about reassessing the past and realizing how much of your perception is colored by your particular set of experiences and beliefs. Who was right and who was wrong? Was it love or a web of lies?” says singer/guitarist Rob Grote. “Life is this weird, fucked up journey, constantly changing and constantly realizing you were wrong or followed a false messiah, but there’s a lot of beauty in our ability to shift and grow through observing ourselves and our patterns. I’ve been hurt by people I love and given more than I should at my own expense, but ultimately wouldn’t trade it for the lessons I’ve taken away from it all.” Great American Painting—the band’s fifth album, produced by Joe Chiccarelli (Spoon, The Strokes, Broken Social Scene).

Mostly made up of songs sketched by Grote during his time in a Washington state cabin at the height of the pandemic, Great American Painting marks a significant departure from 2020’s acclaimed You Know I’m Not Going Anywhere. “The last album almost felt like a recording project of my own rather than a band affair, so from the start the goal was to focus on what’s always worked well with us: an element of simplicity that’s still very powerful, with a lot of visceral rock-and-roll energy to it,” says Grote. To that end, Great American Painting endlessly spotlights The Districts’ greatest assets—the tones of guitarist Pat Cassidy, the rhythms of drummer Braden Lawrence, and former bassist Connor Jacobus, who has since amicably departed the band (Lawrence will switch to bass in the band’s live show)—while introducing a new subtlety into their sound. “We usually love to just keep making everything louder, but this time there was a lot more attention paid to carving out space within the songs to really showcase each instrument,” Grote points out.

In the making of Great American Painting, The Districts found their sense of connection exponentially intensified. “It just felt so nice to spend time with the people I care about, to have fun and try to make something good for the world,” Grote says. That feeling of kinship and solidarity is something the band hopes to extend with the album’s release. “The thing I value most in music is when an album expresses some sort of pain or frustration or hope that I also feel,” he explains. “I hope this album makes people feel like something within themselves is reflected in the wider world, and I hope that makes them feel less alone.”

The Districts
2022 tour dates

January 22 – Clwb Ifor Bach – Cardiff, UK
January 23 – The Library – Lancaster, UK
January 24 – Bodega – Nottingham, UK
January 26 – Hare & Hounds – Birmingham, UK
January 27 – Arts Centre – Norwich, UK
January 28 – Arts Club Loft – Liverpool, UK
January 29 – The Workman’s Club – Dublin, IE
January 31 – St. Luke’s – Glasgow, UK
February 1 – Brudenell Social Club – Leeds, UK
February 2 – YES – Manchester, UK (Sold Out)
February 3 – Exchange – Bristol, UK
February 5 – Lafayette – London, UK
February 6 – Patterns – Brighton, UK
February 8 – TRIX – Antwerp, BE
February 9 – Gebaude 9 – Cologne, DE
February 10 – L’Aéronef – Lille, FR
February 11 – Le Petit Bain – Paris, FR
February 12 – Exil – Zurich, CH
February 14 – Strom – Munich, DE
February 15 – Chapeau Rouge – Prague, CZ
February 16 – Hole 44 – Berlin, DE
February 17 – Bahnhof Pauli – Hamburg. DE
February 19 – Ekko – Utrecht, NL (Sold Out)
March 9 – Midtown Arts Center – Harrisburg, PA
March 11 – Mr. Smalls Theatre – Pittsburgh, PA
March 12 – A&R Music Bar – Columbus, OH
March 13 – Zanzabar – Louisville, KY
March 15 – Metro – Chicago, IL
March 16 – Turf Club – Minneapolis, MN
March 18 – Bluebird Theater – Denver, CO
March 19 – Kilby Court – Salt Lake City, UT
March 21 – Neumos – Seattle, WA
March 22 – Doug Fir Lounge – Portland, OR
March 23 – Treefort Music Festival – Boise, ID
March 25 – August Hall – San Francisco, CA
March 26 – Lodge Room – Los Angeles, CA
March 27 – Casbah – San Diego, CA
March 29 – Valley Bar – Phoenix, AZ
March 30 – Meow Wolf – Santa Fe, NM
April 1 – Club Dada – Dallas, TX
April 2 – Mohawk – Austin, TX
April 3 – Warehouse Live – Houston, TX
April 5 – The Basement East – Nashville, TN
April 7 – El Club – Detroit, MI
April 8 – Horseshoe Tavern – Toronto, ON
April 9 – Bar Le Ritz PDB – Montreal, QC
April 10 The Sinclair – Boston, MA
April 12 – Space Ballroom – Hamden, CT
April 13 – 9:30 Club – Washington DC
April 14 – Warsaw – Brooklyn, NY
April 16 – Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA