Ages and Ages, have announced their forthcoming release Something To Ruin, due out August 19th via Partisan Records. Today, the band are sharing the first single “They Want More.”

Recorded at Isaac Brock’s studio (Ice Cream Party), Something to Ruin explores what it’s like to watch your surroundings implode in a frenzy of real estate development and lifestyle branding. Songs like “Kick Me Out” and “My Cold Reflection” describe an existence where almost everything is monetized and loses it’s meaning. The album’s first track “They Want More,” deals with the struggle to live an honest life in this type of superficial cultural landscape.

Early on in the writing process of this record, band leaders Tim Perry and Rob Oberdorfer traveled to Central America and visited indigenous ruins partly engulfed by surrounding forests – a tangible reminder of the impermanence of human civilization and the resilience of nature. Back at home in Portland, Oregon, their community was being engulfed by something entirely different. Like so many other cities around the country, rapid growth and development were changing both its landscape and culture.

To set the stage for this narrative, Tim and Rob embraced synthetic sounds and artificial textures- a marked difference from the organic and documentarian approach on their previous albums. The record is also more groove-laden, with electronic experimentation pushed to the surface. Tim’s vocal melodies and the richly layered harmonies of Sarah Riddle, Annie Bethancourt, Colin Jenkins and Oberdorfer mirror themes about the power (and impotence) of the individual and the need for community.

Isaac Brock’s unmistakable, marbled baritone and guitar jumps out on “So Hazy” and traces of old Modest Mouse can also be heard in the discordant and mechanical noises that bubble to the surface on the album’s title track and “All of My Enemies.” If there is an anthem on Something to Ruin comparable to “No Nostalgia” and “Divisionary (Do the Right Thing),” it resides in the album’s final track “As It Is” which contains the trademark exultant vocals that endear the band to its fans.

The band also announces a US tour tied to the album’s release, find all dates here and below.

Ages And Ages
Something To Ruin
Tracklisting:

01. They Want More
02. Kick Me Out
03. Something To Ruin
04. So Hazy
05. My Cold Reflection
06. All Of My Enemies
07. Cascadia Waving Back
08. I’m Moving
09. Now I Know
10. Caught Up In It
11. As It Is

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AGES AND AGES – 2016 TOUR DATES

8/12/16 – Bend, OR – Brook Street Block Party
8/24/16 – San Francisco CA – Brick & Mortar
8/26/16 – Los Angeles CA – Bootleg Bar
8/27/16 – San Diego CA – Soda Bar
8/28/16 – Phoenix AZ – Rebel Lounge
8/30/16 – Colorado Springs CO – Ivywild School
8/31/16 – Denver CO – Hi-Dive
9/1/16 – Salt Lake City UT – Kilby Court
9/2/16 – Boise ID – Neurolux
9/3/16 – Portland OR – Mississippi Studio (Early Show – All Ages)
9/3/16 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studio (Late Show – 21+)
9/8/16 – Seattle WA – Barboza
9/9/16 – Spokane WA – The Bartlett
9/10/16 – Bozeman MT – Filling Station
9/14/16 – Minneapolis MN – Bryant Lake Bowl
9/15/16 – Chicago IL – Beat Kitchen
9/16/16 – Goshen IN – Ignition Garage
9/17/16 – Cincinnati OH – MOTR Pub
9/18/16 – Columbus OH – Rumba
9/20/16 – Philadelphia PA – Milkboy
9/21/16 – Brooklyn NY – Rough Trade
9/24/16 – New Haven CT – Cafe Nine
9/25/16 – Boston MA – Great Scott
9/27/16 – Washington DC – DC9
9/28/16 – Charlottesville VA – The Southern
9/29/16 – Chapel Hill NC – Local 506
9/30/16 – Atlanta GA – Vinyl
10/1/16 – Nashville TN – The Basement